Rebel fighters were seen near the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, standing beside a torn poster of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and the late top commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani. This followed the announcement by Syrian rebels that they had ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
The Iranian embassy in Syria was vandalized on Sunday, according to an AFP photographer. This occurred after rebels declared the fall of Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Tehran, following a significant offensive that ended in Damascus. The photographer observed ransacked offices, with shattered glass and broken furniture in the building located in the upscale Mazzeh area of Damascus, which also houses other embassies and United Nations offices. Looted items were being loaded onto trucks outside the embassy.
Inside the premises, filing cabinets and drawers were left open, with papers, files, and other contents, including Iranian and Syrian flags, scattered around. A safe was found in the middle of one room, with the tiled floor littered with broken posters of the republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and the current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A destroyed picture of Lebanon's former Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah, and Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani was also found on the ground.
Iranian state television reported that 'unknown individuals have attacked the Iranian embassy,' sharing footage from Al Arabiya, which was said to be from the diplomatic compound. The Tehran Times reported online that Iranian diplomats had left the embassy before it was stormed, citing foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. The report accused rebel forces of being behind the attack, though this claim could not be immediately verified. Later on Sunday, Baqaei stated that Tehran had taken 'necessary measures' to ensure the 'security and safety of the employees of the embassy,' adding that 'the ambassador and employees are in perfect health.'
Online footage verified by AFP showed men outside the embassy overnight, tearing down a poster featuring Nasrallah and Soleimani. On Saturday, as the rebels continued their offensive but had not yet taken Damascus, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called for 'the Syrian government and legitimate opposition groups' to enter negotiations. Araghchi visited Damascus on December 1, meeting with Assad in the Syrian leader's last public appearance alongside an Iranian official. A day later, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated Tehran's support in a telephone call with Assad.
The deposed Syrian leader last visited Iran in May, shortly after the death of former president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. Iran has supported Damascus during Syria's civil war, which began in 2011, sending 'military advisers' at Assad's request. Numerous Iranian Revolutionary Guards commanders have been killed in Syria, both in combat and in Israeli strikes.
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