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Iran’s IRGC Commander: Must Derive Lessons from Bitter Syria Experience

Young Syrians sit outside the building of the Iranian embassy which was ransacked after anti-government fighters took Damascus the previous day, with a portrait of Iran's slain Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, still hanging on its fence in the Syrian capital on December 9, 2024. (AFP)
Young Syrians sit outside the building of the Iranian embassy which was ransacked after anti-government fighters took Damascus the previous day, with a portrait of Iran's slain Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, still hanging on its fence in the Syrian capital on December 9, 2024. (AFP)
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Iran’s IRGC Commander: Must Derive Lessons from Bitter Syria Experience

Young Syrians sit outside the building of the Iranian embassy which was ransacked after anti-government fighters took Damascus the previous day, with a portrait of Iran's slain Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, still hanging on its fence in the Syrian capital on December 9, 2024. (AFP)
Young Syrians sit outside the building of the Iranian embassy which was ransacked after anti-government fighters took Damascus the previous day, with a portrait of Iran's slain Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, still hanging on its fence in the Syrian capital on December 9, 2024. (AFP)

Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Hossein Salami said his country needed to “derive lessons” from the “bitter” experience in Syria.

“Syria is no place for foreign intervention,” he added in wake of the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad's regime by the opposition.

Iran spent billions of dollars to support its ally Assad during Syria’s civil war. The IRGC dispatched forces to Syria to prop up the regime after the war erupted in 2011.

Salami defended Iran’s intervention in Syria, saying: “Everyone could see that the Syrian people were living in dignity when we were there.”

“We did not go to Syria to annex its territories. We did not turn it into an arena to achieve our ambitious aspirations,” he added, according to the Fars news agency.

On Israeli attacks on Syrian army positions after the downfall of the Assad regime, he noted: “We witnessed the unfolding of unfortunate events after the demise of the regime. The Zionists are now capable of seeing as far as Damascus without the need for weapons.”

“We now realize that had the military and armed forces not resisted, the entire country could have been occupied in an instant,” Salami went on to say.

“The people of Damascus understand the value of the men of the resistance. They realize how valuable they were when they were there and what a catastrophe it is now that they are gone,” he claimed.

This was the third time that Salami has commented on the ouster of the regime, which collapsed on December 8.

Last week, he met with lawmakers for closed-door talks. He told them that Iran has not been weakened in the region. Notably absent from the meeting was Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Forces, which is in charge of the IRGC’s foreign operations.

On Thursday, Salami spoke with IRGC commanders, assuring them that Iran has not lost its regional proxies.

Iran had pinned blame on the regime collapse on the Syrian army, Türkiye, the United States and Israel.

Meanwhile, pro-IRGC Iranian media focused their coverage on justifying Iran’s intervention in Syria during the civil war. They also focused on Assad’s fall and its impact on Iran and its proxies.

Front pages of newspapers omitted coverage of the Syrian people’s celebrations of the ouster of the regime to focus on the damage caused by Israeli strikes on Syrian military positions. Photos of senior Turkish and Syrian opposition figures were also plastered on the front page.

MP Ismail Kawthari, an IRGC member, said Assad failed in gaining the army’s support. The military also lacked resources and support, which led to its collapse.

He revealed that Iran remained in contact with the deposed president until the very end, but some officials, such as the prime minister and some military leaders, obstructed the communication.

Syria was a significant route to supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon, he stressed.

Moreover, he said Syria officially requested Iran’s intervention during the war to combat ISIS and prevent its spread to the Iranian borders.

He charged that Syria “is still under the control of the Zionist entity, the US and their agents.” He predicted that disputes will emerge between the “forces that were brought together with American funds,” which will allow the Syrian people to realize the “deception and seek out leaders who can achieve security and improve the economy.”

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Yarmouk Camp: Gaza-like Destruction, Uncertainty Amid Temporary Decisions

The destruction within Syria’s Yarmouk camp mirrors the scenes of war in Gaza (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The destruction within Syria’s Yarmouk camp mirrors the scenes of war in Gaza (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Yarmouk Camp: Gaza-like Destruction, Uncertainty Amid Temporary Decisions

The destruction within Syria’s Yarmouk camp mirrors the scenes of war in Gaza (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The destruction within Syria’s Yarmouk camp mirrors the scenes of war in Gaza (Asharq Al-Awsat)

This is not Gaza. It is the Yarmouk camp in Syria.
Simply reading the sign repeatedly at the entrance of the Palestinian camp near Damascus is not enough to cement this truth in the visitor’s mind.
One must constantly remind themselves, with every step and glance, that this is not Gaza, but the Yarmouk camp, just 18 kilometers from Umayyad Square. The camp faced systematic destruction and a long siege, leading to the deaths of over 150 residents, mostly children, from hunger and thirst.
The few families who returned after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime or in recent years are barely visible among the vast destruction, which stretches beyond what the eye or camera can capture.
A passerby emerging from the rubble or children returning from their makeshift classes at the nearby UNRWA school might seem like a scene from a film.
But this is the daily reality for the survivors.
“There are no services in the camp,” locals told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“No electricity, running water, internet, or basic healthcare—just ruined buildings, endless destruction, and dust.”
The memory of the starvation siege still lingers in Yarmouk.
A young man who survived the 2018 siege spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity.
“I remember the first piece of bread I ate after days of hunger. The taste never leaves me. After nearly a week without food or water, I remembered seeing a bag of bread in our neighbors' fridge,” he recalled.
“I mustered the strength to go and found the fridge, burned by airstrikes, still attached to the bread. Only the ends of the loaves had survived, though they were moldy... I ate it like a feast.”
The young man then showed old photos of himself, looking pale and thin, almost like a different person. Like him, many men, including heads of households, feared death or arrest if they went to food distribution points. These supplies, trickling in from local factions and the UN, came with great risk. Many "humanitarian corridors" became traps for men and young people.
Since 2011, the camp has endured military targeting, airstrikes, and intense battles. But in 2018, Yarmouk faced one of its darkest moments. After the 2011 uprising, many Palestinians supported it, including activists and Hamas members.
In response, Ahmed Jibril’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine–General Command, along with other pro-Assad factions, launched a violent attack on the camp and Free Syrian Army groups.
Barrel bombs fell on Yarmouk and nearby areas like Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, Al-Tadamon, and Yalda. The situation worsened with the presence of a ISIS stronghold in the southern part of the camp, connecting to those areas.
Founded in 1957, Yarmouk camp, covering around 2.5 kilometers, was once a bustling commercial center, home to nearly 1.5 million people, including Syrians, Palestinians, and some Iraqis. Today, fewer than 8,000 people remain, according to UNRWA estimates.
While many compare Yarmouk’s current situation to Gaza, the issue extends beyond the camp. It is one of 15 Palestinian camps in Syria, with over eight suffering severe destruction, all needing rebuilding and support like Yarmouk, as well as other damaged Syrian neighborhoods and areas around Damascus.
Residents face total neglect, uncertain about their future, the fate of missing family members, and the condition of their homes. Their biggest complaint is a sense of being abandoned, with no social, service, or political support.
They feel like orphans of the former regime, armed groups, and the revolution all at once.
Even the Palestinian factions that once controlled the camp now live in Damascus's middle-class and upscale neighborhoods, with some having moved to Beirut.
For years, civilians were trapped between ISIS, other factions, and the regime. Sources confirm that ISIS in Damascus was founded by a former prisoner from Yalda, released by the regime after the 2011 protests.
He was joined by an Iraqi officer living in Yarmouk, both of whom defected from Al-Nusra Front.
For nearly two years, ISIS expanded into nearby areas like Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, Al-Tadamon, and the southern part of Yarmouk, forming a large network of smaller extremist groups that fought and defeated the Free Syrian Army at the time.
During this period, ISIS militants were treated at the government-run Al-Mahini Hospital, later becoming the first armed group to negotiate with the former regime in southern Damascus. They left in organized convoys of buses to the desert of Sweida after surrendering military checkpoints, while Yarmouk residents remained fully besieged.
Asharq Al-Awsat passed the site of the “Ali Al-Wahsh” checkpoint, where a massacre killed 1,200 Yarmouk civilians (according to documented figures).
The worst part of this massacre was not just the number of victims, but the deception used to lure residents with promises of a safe passage for aid after the siege. Once there, men were executed, and women and children were forcibly displaced. Many residents, fearing for their lives, chose to stay hungry rather than risk going for help.
Diaa Suleiman, who lived through that time as a teenager and is now a father of three, said: “After all we went through, we’ve been betrayed. We are completely abandoned. No one looks at us, not even those who caused this. We need protection. We need answers... We need to know where we stand.”
An unofficial meeting, details of which were leaked, took place between Yarmouk faction leaders and representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The agreement was that Palestinian fighters would hand over their weapons to the new regime in Syria, following a broader call for all factions to do the same.
While Palestinian weapons in Yarmouk were never used against Israel but instead in internal conflicts to support Assad’s regime, their removal now seems like the least difficult demand.
The value of these weapons has completely disappeared, especially since Yarmouk is now empty and destroyed. Restoring any authority there will require rebuilding both the infrastructure and the people.
“The major challenge ahead is how to define the legal and civil status of Palestinians and protect them through the law,” Ayman Abu Hashem, general coordinator of the Palestinian-Syrian Assembly (Maseer), told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Unlike most Palestinian refugee communities, Syrian law grants Palestinians the right to work, own property, and enjoy all civil rights, except voting. However, it excludes those who arrived after the 1967 war or from Jordan after 1970, and those constitute a significant number.
While most Palestinians in Syria see themselves as also Syrian, Hashem said their main demand is to gain Syrian citizenship while keeping their Palestinian identity.
“We don’t want to be seen as giving up the right of return or our connection to Palestine. But we and our children deserve Syrian citizenship, like anyone born and raised in a country, becoming a dual citizen,” explained Hashem.