WSJ: Iran warned Assad that it would not help him

Iran has warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that assistance to his authorities in the fight against militants who have seized part of the country's territory will be limited, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed Arab officials.

"Earlier this week, Tehran told Assad that assistance to his regime would be limited, accusing his troops of retreating," unnamed Arab officials briefed on the progress of negotiations between Iran and Syria told the publication.

As unnamed sources familiar with the situation added, Iran has withdrawn its senior commanders stationed in eastern Syria from the country.

Earlier, the American newspaper Washington Post, citing an anonymous Iraqi official, claimed that Iran had begun withdrawing part of its commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and part of the diplomatic corps from Syria amid the ongoing militant offensive on Damascus. Later, in a live broadcast on Iranian state television, Iranian Ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic Hossein Akbari said that the diplomatic mission of the Islamic Republic in Syria continues to carry out its work.

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group* (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation), together with a number of armed groups that are part of the so-called armed Syrian opposition, launched a large-scale operation on November 29, advancing from the north of Idlib towards the cities of Aleppo and Hama. A day later, on November 30, the second largest city in Syria and its surroundings, including the international airport and the military airfield of Kuwait, came under the control of terrorists.

The complete capture of Aleppo by militants occurred for the first time since the beginning of the crisis in Syria in 2011. Until the end of 2016, the armed opposition controlled only the eastern part of the city and was driven out by the Syrian army with the support of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

After the capture of Aleppo, terrorist groups attempted to advance towards the city of Hama, capturing the settlement of Maaret Nuuman. The Syrian army has been repelling massive terrorist attacks in the province of Hama from three different directions for several days, declaring preparations for a counteroffensive. However, on December 5, the command of the SAR army officially announced the redeployment of its units outside the city of Hama.

The city of Hama, located in the central part of Syria, was under the control of the Syrian army throughout the Syrian conflict, which began in the spring of 2011. Hama is of strategic geographical importance, being located between the provinces of Homs and Damascus, as well as touching the Latakia province through the mountain range.

The last time an armed coup was attempted by the forces of radical underground Islamist formations with the support of the Muslim Brotherhood (the organization is recognized as terrorist and banned in the Russian Federation) in the fourth largest city of Syria was in 1982. Then, thanks to the operational actions of the Syrian military command, the city was freed from the presence of terrorist groups and regained control of the official authorities.

*Terrorist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation