Putin Announces Evacuation of 4,000 Iranian Fighters From Syria to Tehran Via Khmeimim Base After Assad's Regime Collapse

Dec 19, 2024, 11:26 AM

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia had evacuated 4,000 Iranian fighters from Syria to Tehran following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime. Speaking at his annual press conference in Moscow, Putin stated that the evacuation was facilitated through Russia's Khmeimim air base in Syria. He emphasized that Russia's intervention in Syria a decade ago was to prevent the establishment of a terrorist enclave, a goal he claimed had been achieved. Putin also noted that some pro-Iranian groups had withdrawn to Lebanon and Iraq without engaging in combat, while approximately 30,000 government troops and pro-Iranian units retreated from Aleppo when 350 opposition fighters approached the city. Despite the fall of Assad, Putin denied that Russia had been defeated in Syria, asserting that Moscow had accomplished its objectives there.