Putin said, "We took 4,000 Iranian fighters to Tehran," but the Revolutionary Guards denied it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first comprehensive statement regarding developments in Syria yesterday. Informing about his country's position in Syria, Putin stated that the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime did not mean a defeat for Russia.

"WE BROUGHT 4 THOUSAND IRANIAN-ALIGNED MILITANTS TO TEHRAN"

Vladimir Putin noted that a total of 30 thousand regime soldiers and Iranian-aligned militants had retreated without fighting before the fall of Assad in Syria, and claimed that they had brought 4 thousand Iranian-aligned militants to Tehran.

REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS DENIED THE CLAIM

In response, Iran denied Putin's statements. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that Putin's claims about bringing 4 thousand Iranian fighters to Tehran did not reflect the truth, and claimed that 15 of their military advisors had lost their lives in the recent conflicts in the country.

DEVELOPMENTS IN SYRIA

On November 27, clashes intensified between anti-regime armed groups and Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syria. The groups had gained dominance in the largest cities such as Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, and Homs between November 30 and December 7. As the groups began to enter the capital Damascus on December 7, with support from the masses, the regime completely lost control in Damascus and many other regions, leading to its collapse. As the Ba'ath Party's 61-year rule came to an end, regime leader Assad fled to Russia, which had decided to provide asylum for him and his family on December 8.

Meanwhile, the Syrian National Army had liberated the center of the Tel Rifaat district from the terrorist organization PKK/YPG on the first day of the Operation Dawn of Freedom, which was launched in December. With the liberation of the Manbij district during the operation, the region, which had turned into the largest terrorist stronghold west of the Euphrates River, was cleared of PKK/YPG. After the overthrow of the Ba'ath regime, a temporary administration was established in Syria, and Muhammad al-Bashir was appointed as the prime minister of the temporary administration until March 2025. Turkey's embassy in Damascus resumed operations on December 14. Following the regime's overthrow, many Western countries sent delegations to Damascus.