Iran was 'defeated very badly' in Syria, Assad & Russia failed to act, admits top general

In a rare admission, a top general has said Iran was “defeated very badly” in Syria and flagged the failures of deposed leader Bashar al-Assad and ally Russia.

In a speech at an event at a mosque in Tehran, Brigadier General Behrouz Esbati also said that Iran was not in a state to have another round of direct confrontation with Israel, but sought to reassure the people that not everything is lost in Syria and advanced Iranian missiles remain capable of reaching Israel.

In a regime known for the tight control over the narrative, the admission comes as a rare public acknowledgement of setbacks both in Syria with the ouster of the Assad dynasty and the loss of strategic depth Syria provided and the in the wider region. From more than a year of conflict with Israel, Iran stands significantly weakened — the Israeli assaults have largely neutralised Iranian air defences and a key component of the nuclear programme has also been destroyed.

More from World

Earthquake of magnitude 5.9 jolts Assam, tremors felt in Bhutan and north Bengal 5 US F-35 jets land in Puerto Rico amid tensions with Venezuela

Esbati was the top Iranian commander in Syria and supervised all Iranian military activities there, according to The Times.

The newspaper reported that Esbati coordinated closely with Syrian ministers and defence officials and with Russian generals and outranged even Ismail Ghaani, the head of Quds Force of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

‘We were defeated very badly’

Even as senior Iranian leaders, such as President Masoud Pezeshkian, have largely downplayed the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Esbati did not mince his words.

“I don’t consider losing Syria something to be proud of. We were defeated, and defeated very badly, we took a very big blow and it’s been very difficult,” said Esbati, according to the English translation of his speech at Tehran’s Valiasr mosque on December 31, 2023, reported by The New York Times.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

In response to questions from attendees following his speech, Esbati said that while Iran had responded to Israel’s action in Lebanon and elsewhere in the region twice, “the situation” could not realistically handle a third round of attack.

“The situation” was an apparent reference to the poor state of Iranian air defences, which US and Israeli officials have described as “essentially naked” as Russian air defence systems have been destroyed in Israeli airstrikes. Moreover, Iran’s allies in the region, Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Gaza Strip-based Hamas, and militias in Iraq and Syria, are no longer in a position to support any large-scale aggression against Israel.

When asked why Iran would not attack US military bases in the region, Esbati said that regular Iranian missiles —but not advanced missiles— could not penetrate advanced US air defence systems in place in and around these bases.

Fall of Assad regime was inevitable, says Esbati

Esbati said that the fall of the Assad regime was inevitable, according to The Times.

Considering how rampant corruption was in Syria under Assad and the political oppression and economic hardships that people were living under, the fall of the regime was inevitable, said Esbati.

Assad had also ignored warnings from Iran to carry out political reforms to save the regime, said Esbati.

Flagging the failure of Russia, the biggest ally of Assad, Esbati said that Russia misled Iran by telling it that Russian warplanes were bombing Syrian opposition forces when they were actually dropping bombs on open fields.

Esbati further went on to say that Russia essentially facilitated Israel’s military campaign inside Syria as Russia had “turned off radars”.

As for the future of Iranian activities in Syria, Esbati said that Iran would look for new ways to recruit insurgents.

“We can activate all the networks we have worked with over the years. We can activate the social layers that our guys lived among for years; we can be active in social media and we can form resistance cells. Now we can operate there as we do in other international arenas, and we have already started,” said Esbati.