Islamic Republic suffered severe defeat in Syria, Iranian general says

“We were defeated and defeated very badly, we took a very big blow, and it’s been very difficult,” Esbati noted.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF JANUARY 9, 2025 11:39 Updated: JANUARY 9, 2025 11:49

An Iranian flag depicted in the Syrian presidential Palace. Damascus, Syria. December 10, 2024. (photo credit: Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

The Islamic Republic suffered a significant defeat in Syria in the aftermath of former Syrian president Basha al-Assad's toppling, Iranian Brig.-Gen. Behrouz Esbati said in a speech last week in Tehran, according to The New York Times, citing local Iranian media. 

“We were defeated and defeated very badly, we took a very big blow, and it’s been very difficult,” Esbati noted, according to the report, adding, “I don’t consider losing Syria something to be proud of.”

However, prior to Assad's fall, Iran's relationship with the Syrian president had been tense, owing to the fact that Assad had not allowed Iranian proxy groups to attack Israel from its territory following the October 7 massacre, the Brig.-Gen. reportedly added in his speech. 

He also asserted that the Islamic Republic had submitted to Assad plans detailing how it could use its military resources from within Syria to attack the Jewish State. 

However, Esbati stated Iran would continue to operate from Syria, “We can activate all the networks we have worked with over the years,” he said. “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.”

The Iranian flag flutters outside the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 6, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/LEONHARD FOEGER/FILE PHOTO)

An IRGC member who was quoted by the NYT contradicted such comments, stating implementing such actions was not as feasible as Ebasti had made it seem. 

“Now we can operate there as we do in other international arenas, and we have already started," he reportedly asserted, Esbati reportedly added in his speech. 

Criticizing Russia

The senior military figure also criticized Russia, claiming it had "turned off radars" during Israel's attacks on Iran. In the context of Moscow's role in the Syrian Civil War, he claimed the Russian military had bombed open fields in Syria instead of rebel targets.   

Esbati also noted with regard to his country attacking Israel for a third time that "the situation" would not be able to manage an additional attack on Israel.