Iran's embassy in the Syrian capital was stormed by rebels on Sunday following their capture of Damascus and the fall of Iran-allied Bashar al-Assad, Iranian state TV reported.
Rebel fighters stand near the Iranian embassy with a torn poster of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and late Iran's Revolutionary Guards' top commander Qassem Soleimani after Syrian rebels announced that they have ousted President Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria December 8, 2024. Reuters/Firas Makdesi
Iran's embassy in the Syrian capital was stormed by rebels on Sunday following their capture of Damascus and the fall of Iran-allied Bashar al-Assad, Iranian state TV reported.
"It is said that the Iranian embassy was stormed alongside nearby stores by an armed group different from the group now controlling [most of] Syria," Iranian state TV said, referring to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which spearheaded the rebel advances across western Syria.
Footage from inside the embassy's premises was shared by Saudi Arabia's al-Arabiya channel, showing that assailants had rummaged through furniture and documents inside the building and damaged some windows.
Reuters could not verify the videos.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday that Iranian diplomats had vacated the embassy in the early morning, prior to any assault.
Iran's state TV said HTS had guaranteed there would be no disturbance to the Sayeda Zeinab and Sayeda Ruqqaya shrines in Damascus.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Sunday that all Iranian servants of the shrines returned to Iran prior to the capture of Damascus by rebels.
Sayeda Zeinab - the granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammad - is venerated by Shi'ites and her shrine is a site of mass pilgrimage for Shi'ites from across the world. It has also been a magnet for Shi'ite militiamen in Syria.
HTS was formerly an al Qaeda affiliate known as the Nusra Front until its leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, severed ties with the global jihadist movement in 2016.
Reporting by Dubai Newsroom
Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to task experts to start drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran's foreign minister said, after a second round of talks following President Donald Trump's threat of military action.
Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said is set to visit Moscow on Monday, days after the start of a round of Muscat-mediated nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran.
The U.S. military will consolidate its presence in Syria over the coming weeks and months in a move that could reduce the number of troops it has in the country by half, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Friday.
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