Syria – live: Israel strikes Assad’s military 480 times as Iran’s ayatollah blames US for fall of regime
Israel denies penetrating Syria beyond buffer zone in occupied Golan Heights
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Your support makes all the difference.Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said Iran had evidence that the toppling of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was a result of a plan by the US, Israel and one of Syria’s neighbours that he did not name.
His intervention on Wednesday came as Israel said it launched more than 480 airstrikes against military facilities across Syria, destroying the Syrian navy and targeting weapons stockpiles and strategic infrastructure.
The Israeli military said they carried out the strikes over the last 48 hours, hitting weapons production sites in the cities of Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia and Palmyra. The targets also included airfields, anti-aircraft batteries, drones, aircraft and tanks.
Russia has also criticised Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights region in Syria’s south-west as prolonging instability, as the Kremlin said the safety of its military and diplomatic personnel in the country was paramount.
A US official has also said American troops will remain in Syria to take on Isis militants despite the ongoing crisis following the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.
US troops “have been there now for the better part of a decade or more to fight Isis… we are still committed to that mission,” said US deputy national security adviser Jon Finer.
Meanwhile, Mohammed al-Bashir – a figure little known across most of Syria who previously ran an administration in a small pocket of the northwest controlled by rebels – has been appointed interim prime minister. In a brief address on state television, he said he would lead Syria’s interim authority until 1 March, with the backing of the rebel coalition that toppled president Bashar al-Assad three days ago.
Who is Mohammed al-Bashir? Syria’s new interim PM who has connections to both Assad and the rebels
‘They tortured me when I asked to see him’: Wife of jailed Syrian reveals truth of Assad’s slaughterhouse jail
‘Every home has three or four missing. It is our nightmare’ – Syrians’ desperate search for loved ones
Footage shows secret underground tunnels used by Assad regime in Syria
Qatar to reopen embassy in Syria
Qatar says it will reopen its embassy in Syria, allowing it to boost the flow of humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged country.
In a statement published on social media platform X, the Qatari foreign ministry said the reopening of the diplomatic presence in Syria signified “Qatar’s steadfast support for the brotherly Syrian people, who are striving to build their state on the foundations of justice, peace, stability and prosperity.”
New details of Assad escape emerge
Russian intelligence agents organised the swift escape of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad after convincing him he would lose to encroaching rebel forces.
News agency Bloomberg reports Russia offered Assad a safe exit if he left the country immediately, in fresh detail of the escape attributed to multiple, unnamed sources with knowledge of the dramatic events.
Russia has now issued several warnings over the instability in the country after Syrian miltant group HTS led the insurrection against Damascus that led to the Assad regime’s toppling 13 years after the beginning of the civil war.
Russia warns danger Islamic State will rise again
Russia has warned the overthrow of the Assad regime means there is a real danger Islamic State will raise its head again.
Russia’s foreign ministry issued the warning on Wednesday while cautioning other nations to refrain from provocative language that could prolong instability in Syria as a new interim government backed by rebel forces takes hold.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Russian facilities and assets in Syria were protected by conventions of international law.
Russia has a major air base in Latakia province and a naval facility at Tartous, its only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier Russia was in contact with those in charge in Syria and that it was hopeful stability would be achieved, playing down the damage done to Russian influence in the region.
Iran warned Assad over threats in recent months, ayatollah claims
Iranian intelligence had warned the Syrian government about threats to its stability over the last three months, Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported the ayatollah’s comments on Wednesday, adding that Damascus had “neglected the enemy” ahead of Bashar al-Assad fleeing the country as his regime fell to rebel insurgents.
Ayatollah Khamenei earlier condemned the events of the weekend as the result of a US and Israeli plot to overthrow the Syrian dictactorship, which was backed by Iran and Russia.
He labelled the rebellion a “joint American-Zionist plot” carried out by militant group HTS.
Kremlin plays down fallout from Assad toppling
The Kremlin has played down the damage to Russian influence in the Middle East from the fall of Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad, saying that its focus was Ukraine.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was in contact with hose in charge in Syria and that it was hopeful stability would be achieved.
When Russia intervened in the Syrian Civil War in 2015, it helped tip the balance in Assad‘s favour, so his fall from power dealt a serious setback to both Russia, which is fighting a major land war in Ukraine, and to Iran, which is battling US- backed Israel across the Middle East.
Asked how much the fall of Assad had weakened Russia’s influence in the region, Mr Peskov said Moscow’s priority was the war in Ukraine, which Russian president Vladimir Putin calls a “special military operation”.
“The special military operation is the absolute priority for our country: we must ensure the interests of our security, the interests of our Russian people, and we shall do so,” Peskov said on Wednesday.
Moscow has supported Syria since the early days of the Cold War, recognising its independence in 1944 as Damascus sought to throw off French colonial rule.
The tension over Golan Heights explained
Part of Israel’s military activity in Syria in recent days has been to occupy Golan Heights, a region in the south-west corner of Syria close to both Lebanon and Israel.
The Kremlin on Wednesday warned Israel’s actions would not help stabilise the country.
On Monday, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on that Israel was defending itself from militant groups occupying regions along the border which could be used to launch offensives.
He also claimed that the occupation of five Syrian villages across the Golan Heights was temporary, and would not amount to a permanent expansion of Israeli territory.
Israel itself, however, refuted that assertion directly just a few hours later, once again putting the Biden administration in the almost certain position of having spread falsehoods to the American public.
Read US correspondent John Bowden’s full report here
Safeguarding Russian bases and diplomats in Syria paramount: Kremlin
The Kremlin says ensuring the security of Russia’s military bases and diplomatic missions in Syria is of paramount importance.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was maintaining contacts with those in charge in Syria and that it was hopeful stability would be achieved.
Russia, whose airforce carried out strikes against advancing Syrian rebels earlier this month, before Bashar al-Assad’s regime was toppled, has a key air base in Latakia province and a naval facility at Tartous, its only Mediterranean repair and replenishment.
The Kremlin also took aim at Israel’s strikes against the Golan Heights region, in the border area abbutting Israel and Lebanon, after Israeli forces moved into the territory to prevent militant groups from occupying regions along the border which could be used to launch offensives into its territory.
Russia said Israel’s actions on the front were unlikely to contribute to Syria’s stabilisation.
What does fall of Assad in Syria mean for the Middle East and the West?
For over half a century, one family ruled Syria. Yet nearly overnight, as rebels advanced through the country and ultimately reached the capital, Damascus, that brutal reign came to an end.
After 13 years of civil war under the iron-fisted rule of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, there is now hope for millions of Syrians who endured a campaign of barrel bombs, forced disappearances and torture.
But many questions remain as party lines shift and alliances in the region undergo dramatic changes.
How will the fall of the Assad regime reshape geopolitical dynamics worldwide, and what does it mean for key political players?
Pope calls on rebels to stabilise Syria
Pope Francis has called on the Syrian rebels who toppled the Assad regime to stabilise the country, and govern in a way that promotes national unity.
“I hope they find political solutions that, without other conflicts or divisions, responsibly promote the stability and unity of the country,” the pontiff said during his weekly audience at the Vatican.
The pope, in his first public remarks about Syria since the ending of al-Assad’s rule, also called on the country’s diverse religious groups to “walk together in friendship and mutual respect for the good of the nation”.
The country’s interim leadership has this week moved to quell western fears of extremist violence in Syria.
Pope Francis has decried the casualties in the Syrian conflict at various points over the years, and in 2016 he took the unusual step of making the Vatican’s ambassador to the country a cardinal, the second-highest rank in the Church.
Israel levels research facility previously targeted by US
One of the strikes conducted by Israel over a two-day period was against a Syrian defence ministry research centre, in Barzeh, in the north of Damascus.
The bombardment, which completely levelled the facility, was not the first time the complex had been targeted.
Western countries including the United States struck the facility in 2018, saying it was related to Syria’s “chemical weapons infrastructure.”
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