By Samah Abdul Fattah | 2024-05-19

After suffering heavy losses in strikes on its headquarters in Damascus and other parts of Syria, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been withdrawing its forces from the country, activists told Al-Fassel.

"The Iranian withdrawal from Syria was inevitable for many reasons, the most significant of which was the [April 1] strikes targeting IRGC officers that resulted in the killing of first-line officers," Syrian lawyer Bashir al-Bassam said.

The IRGC's presence in Syria now "will mostly be limited to a very small number of second and third line commanders, but the decision-making will definitely be done through communication with Tehran," he told Al-Fassel.

In light of rising regional tensions over the Israel-Hamas war, Iran "needed to send political signals that it did not want to get involved further, in an effort to calm things down, especially to the United States and the Gulf states," he said.

Iran has not fought a direct war other than the devastating war with Iraq since the Islamic Revolution ushered in the current ruling regime, al-Bassam noted.

After pursuing its policy of "exporting the revolution" and deploying its affiliates in the Middle East, Iran "essentially no longer needs a physical presence and has become dependent on its proxies," he said.

"This is what is happening today in Syria, where it has thousands of militants of various nationalities that it controls remotely."

Disappearing act

"In southern Syria there is virtually no Iranian presence left," Sweida-based activist Nizar Abu Ali told Al-Fassel.

"The armed presence is limited to armed groups loyal to the IRGC, particularly the Lebanese Hizbullah and some local armed groups, some of which receive support from Hizbullah," he said.

"This Iranian vanishing act took place gradually," he said, as Iranian elements began reducing their visibility months ago after being continuously targeted in attacks that inflicted heavy losses in their ranks.

This escalated following the strikes on the IRGC and consulate headquarters in Damascus, he said.

Abu Ali said he has learned from activists across Syria that the IRGC's exodus took place in all parts of the country where Iran has a presence, including its strongholds in Damascus and its hinterland.

The movements and activity of Iranian affiliates have decreased significantly throughout Syria, he said, "and are no longer even remotely close to the level they were at previously, except in rare cases."