Russian-Iranian’ Understanding’ Leads to T-4 Airbase Evacuation in Syria

Israeli soldiers during a training exercise in the Golan Heights near borders with Syria (AFP)
Israeli soldiers during a training exercise in the Golan Heights near borders with Syria (AFP)
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Russian-Iranian’ Understanding’ Leads to T-4 Airbase Evacuation in Syria

Israeli soldiers during a training exercise in the Golan Heights near borders with Syria (AFP)
Israeli soldiers during a training exercise in the Golan Heights near borders with Syria (AFP)

It seems that Moscow had succeeded on Monday in persuading the Iranians to withdraw from the T-4 airbase, located in Syria’s Homs governorate. The likely achievement came after months-long arguments between the two sides.

Data surfaced about the Iranian Revolutionary Guards withdrawing heavy equipment to evacuate the airport, which was described as a strategic location for Iranian movements in Syria.

Although the Russian-Iranian competition over control of the airport is not new, it seemed that Moscow benefited from the continuous Israeli raids to get the Iranian forces to withdraw.

It is noteworthy that the news of the start of the airport evacuation coincided with a visit to Tehran by a Russian delegation that included the presidential envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin, and several Defense Ministry officials.

The Russian and Iranian parties did not mention in the official statements that the issue of the T-4 airport was at the top of the visit’s agenda, but the timing of the visit and its synchronization with the evacuation process, as well as the fact that it came immediately after a visit by the Russian delegation to Damascus, reflected the atmosphere that Moscow pressed firmly to achieve an understanding on this topic.

Lavrentiev had said in Damascus, in response to a question about the ongoing Israeli raids on Iranian sites in Syria, that Moscow” is making efforts to end these raids and reach understandings based on respect for Syrian sovereignty.”

He pointed to his country’s rejection of the principle of a military response to the Israeli raids, explaining that “no one in Syria needs a new war,” calling for “communication with Israel” in this regard.

Immediately after these statements, data emerged in Moscow that the Russian side sought to persuade the Iranians to evacuate a number of sites controlled by Tehran in Syria under the pretext that they were being subjected to continuous Israeli raids.



Netanyahu Says Israel Is Establishing a New Security Corridor across Gaza

An internally displaced Palestinian walks at the site of a UN clinic following an Israeli airstrike, in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2025. (EPA)
An internally displaced Palestinian walks at the site of a UN clinic following an Israeli airstrike, in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2025. (EPA)
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Netanyahu Says Israel Is Establishing a New Security Corridor across Gaza

An internally displaced Palestinian walks at the site of a UN clinic following an Israeli airstrike, in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2025. (EPA)
An internally displaced Palestinian walks at the site of a UN clinic following an Israeli airstrike, in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2025. (EPA)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is establishing a new security corridor across the Gaza Strip.

In a statement on Wednesday, he described it as the Morag corridor, using the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, suggesting it would run between the two southern cities.

His comments came as Palestinian officials at hospitals inside Gaza said Israeli strikes overnight and into Wednesday had killed more than 40 people, nearly a dozen of them children.

The Israeli government has long maintained a buffer zone just inside Gaza along its security fence and has greatly expanded since the war against Hamas began in 2023. Israel says the buffer zone is needed for its security, while Palestinians view it as a land grab that further shrinks the narrow coastal territory, home to around 2 million people.