Tehran, Iran – Iran says it wants to maintain relations with Syria after the fall of major ally Bashar al-Assad, but that opposition groups’ approach towards Israel would be crucial.

Tehran has not commented on reports that it has established a direct line of dialogue with the armed groups that toppled Syria’s ruling family, which was allied with Iran for more than 40 years.

On Tuesday, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani called for “respect for Syria’s territorial integrity” and said the Syrian people should decide their own fate.

Concerning Iran’s future relations with Syria, she said, “their distance from the Zionist regime” would be an important deciding factor.

‘National interests’

Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), told lawmakers during a closed-door meeting in the parliament on Tuesday that no Iranian forces currently remain in Syria.

Arguing that this withdrawal did not mean Tehran’s power had been diminished, the general said Iranian forces were present in Syria until the last moments of al-Assad’s government, according to lawmakers present.

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Iran had supported al-Assad since Syria’s war erupted in 2011, providing him with fighters, weapons and military advice in the form of an IRGC presence that aimed to keep al-Assad in power as well as maintain Tehran’s regional “axis of resistance” to Israel and the US.

Government spokesperson Mohajerani said 4,000 Iranian citizens had returned home from Syria on board 10 flights organised by heavily sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan, since al-Assad’s overthrow.

Asked about the massive investment Iran made in propping up al-Assad and how that financial loss would affect the Iranian people, she insisted that the tens of billions of dollars Tehran spent were to support “national interests”.

‘Stop the crimes against Syria’

Before al-Assad fled, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi repeatedly called the opposition offensive – led by opposition armed group  Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – an “American-Zionist ploy” aiming to further destabilise the region amid the fallout of the Israeli war on Gaza.

Iran’s IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami, centre, at a private session of the parliament to discuss developments in Syria, December 10, 2024 [Handout via Tasnim news agency]

After the opposition groups toppled the regime, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has instead focused its rhetoric on condemning Israel, saying it is “taking advantage of the complicated situation in Syria to exacerbate its genocide in Gaza”.

Iran’s statements came as Israel bombed Syrian infrastructure hundreds of times since Sunday, hitting at least 250 targets across Syria overnight on Monday alone in what Israeli media said was the biggest attack operation ever carried out by its air force.

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Israel destroyed fighter jets and army helicopters in their air bases, targeted military research centres and weapons depots, and attacked Syrian army ships.

Israeli soldiers and tanks have also taken advantage of the political chaos in Syria to push deep inside the country, reaching as close as 20km (12 miles) to the capital, Damascus.

Israel has continued to claim that its expanding occupation of Syrian soil is only aimed at ensuring its security since “extremist” elements could take over the border area.

Iran, which backed al-Assad until the last moment, said in a statement Monday night that it would “use all its regional and international capacities to stop the crimes of the Zionist regime against Syria”, without elaborating.

Iranian missions damaged

Iran on Tuesday also wrote a letter to the UN Security Council to express grave concern and condemnation of attacks on its embassy in Syria on Sunday after the fall of al-Assad.

“Amid an escalation of armed groups in Damascus, militants forcibly stormed and assaulted Iran’s embassy, resulting in severe damage, vandalism, theft of archives and documents, and destruction,” the Iranian mission wrote.

It said that on November 29, “armed groups targeted the Iranian consulate in Aleppo with short-range shells, endangering consular staff”. The consulate was subsequently “invaded and damaged” after the mission had to be evacuated.

Iran stopped short of officially blaming the HTS or any other specific group for the actions.

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After footage appeared online showing the embassy trashed and large images of assassinated leaders Qassem Soleimani and Hassan Nasrallah taken down, Iran’s Araghchi said it appeared some civilians were also involved.

It is unclear if, or when, the Iranian diplomatic missions will be reopened.