Iran, a staunch supporter of the ousted Syrian president, has repatriated 4.000 of its nationals since rebels seized Damascus and toppled Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, the Iranian government said.
"Over the past three days, 4.000 Iranian citizens have been repatriated to Iran from Syria on ten Mahan Air flights," Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said today when asked about the situation in the region.
"The removal of those who are still there is on the agenda and the process will continue until the last Iranian leaves," she added.
About 10.000 Iranian nationals have been living in Syria in recent years, according to official figures.
Syria and Iran have long-standing friendly ties following a rapprochement made in the 1970s by Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father, long before the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
But the seizure of power in Damascus by the rebels threatens to change the situation.
On Sunday, Iran's embassy in Syria was ransacked, an act previously unthinkable in an allied country.
Iran had invested politically and economically as well as militarily in Syria under Bashar al-Assad by sending what Tehran described as "military advisers" to support its army during the civil war.
Tehran, however, has never reported an official troop deployment in the country.
There are no longer any Iranian forces in Syria, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, assured today, according to local media.
Iranian authorities did not immediately comment on the claim.
Source: protothema.gr
