NEW YORK, December 8. /TASS/. Tehran warned Syrian President Bashar Assad last week that its assistance to his government in the fight against militant armed groups would be reduced, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Arab officials.
According to the sources, Iran withdrew its senior officers stationed in eastern Syria. The newspaper also noted that the Iranian side accused the Syrian troops of retreating. On December 2, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, during a phone conversation with Assad, stated that Tehran was ready to provide Damascus with all necessary assistance in the fight against terrorism.
On November 27, the Jabhat al-Nusra extremist group (banned in Russia) carried out a major attack in northern Syria. The Syrian military command later said the army had to fall back from Aleppo to regroup and prepare for a counterattack.
On December 5, the command of the Syrian Armed Forces announced that militants infiltrated into several neighborhoods of Hama. According to a statement from the command, government forces in charge of defending Hama were pulled out of the city.
On December 7, the Syrian Defense Ministry announced that military units operating in the south of the country were being regrouped in accordance with the military’s strategic plan.