Iranian establishment split on Syria as fall of Assad leaves Tehran turning

As Bashar al-Assad's rule collapsed in Syria, Iranian authorities watched in surprise and shock as the rebels advanced across the country in less than two weeks, taking cities one by one with little to no resistance.

An Iranian establishment source told Middle East Eye that Tehran did not expect the Syrian army to fold so quickly.

But when Hezbollah fighters left Syria to battle Israel in Lebanon, their 15 or more checkpoints on the borders with rebel-held territories were mostly not re-occupied by the army, he said.

"We couldn't offer anything since the skies were in the hands of Israel," another source close to the Tehran government told MEE, referring to frequent Israeli air raids in Syria, which have struck Iranian and Hezbollah targets over the past few months.

"Even the day before Assad's fall, senior officials called for the protection of sacred sites, and efforts were made to send forces to safeguard them, but this too was unsuccessful."

As the rebels approached Damascus on 7 December, Iranian state TV changed its tone. It began referring to the rebels as "armed groups", whereas just a day before, they had been "terrorists".

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