MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. Russian forces evacuated 4,000 Iranian fighters from the Hmeimim air base in Syria to Tehran, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated during his combined annual press conference and question-and-answer session.

"In the past, our Iranian friends requested our assistance in deploying their units to Syria, but now, they have asked us to help withdraw them. We evacuated 4,000 Iranian fighters from the Hmeimim base to Tehran," he explained, adding that some of the so-called pro-Iranian units were relocated to Lebanon and Iraq.

In late November, armed opposition units launched a large-scale offensive on positions held by Syrian government forces. On December 8, they entered Damascus, forcing government troops to retreat from the capital. Bashar Assad resigned as Syrian president and fled the country. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who had led the so-called Syrian Salvation Government in the Idlib Province since January 2024, announced his appointment as head of Syria’s interim government. The interim period is expected to last until March 1, 2025.