Iran’s embassy in Syria was “attacked” on Sunday, Iranian state TV said, as Islamist-led rebels announced the fall of Tehran ally Bashar al-Assad following a widespread attack in Damascus.
“Unidentified individuals have attacked the Iranian embassy, as you can see in these photos shared by various networks,” a state TV broadcaster said, showing footage from Al Arabiya.
Iranian newspaper Tehran Times, citing Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei, reported online that Iranian diplomats had left the embassy before the attack.
The report said that all the embassy staff are safe.
It also accused rebel forces of being behind the attack, a claim that could not immediately be independently verified.
Iranian officials have not yet commented on Assad’s fall.
On Saturday, as rebels launched a vigorous offensive but had not yet captured Damascus, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on the “Syrian government and legitimate opposition groups” to engage in talks.
His comments marked a shift in Tehran’s tone toward the rebel groups, whom Iran had previously labeled “terrorists” and refused to recognize as legitimate actors.
Araghchi visited Damascus on December 1, days after the rebel offensive, and met with Assad along with an Iranian official in the Syrian leader’s last public appearance.
A day later, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian reiterated Tehran’s support for Assad in a telephone call.
The ousted Syrian leader last visited Iran in May 2024, soon after the death of former President Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
Iran has supported Damascus during the Syrian civil war that began in 2011, sending “military advisers” at Assad’s request.
Several Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders have been killed in fighting in Syria and in Israeli strikes against alleged Iranian-linked targets.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
