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.



UNDP Plans for $1.3Bln in Help for Syria

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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UNDP Plans for $1.3Bln in Help for Syria

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

The United Nations Development Program is hoping to deliver $1.3 billion over three years to support war-ravaged Syria, including by rebuilding infrastructure and backing digital start-ups, its assistant secretary-general told Reuters.
Abdallah Dardari told Reuters in Damascus that investing in Syria - hit hard by 14 years of conflict that ended when former leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted by a rebel offensive in December and fled the country - was seen as a "global public good."
"Our total plan for Syria over three years is $1.3 billion. This is not just a number, but a comprehensive strategy covering all support aspects," Dardari said. He said that help could include introducing artificial intelligence, setting up social protection programs and rebuilding infrastructure.
He said it would be crucial to mobilize funds from different sources including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as well as other countries in the region.
Since Assad was toppled last year after a nearly 14-year civil war, his successors have called on the international community to lift sanctions imposed against the country during his rule.
So far, most of those sanctions remain in place, with the United States and other Western countries saying the new authorities still need to demonstrate a commitment to peaceful and inclusive rule.
Syria has $563 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) at the IMF. But using the funds requires approval by IMF members holding 85% of the total votes, giving the United States, with 16.5% of the votes, an effective veto.
Syria's finance minister, central bank governor and foreign minister are planning on attending the spring meetings next week, Reuters reported earlier this month.
It would be the first visit to the meetings by a high-level Syrian government delegation in at least two decades, and the first high-level visit by Syria's new authorities to the US Assad's fall.
Washington has handed Syria a list of conditions which, if fulfilled, could lead to some sanctions relief, Reuters reported last month. Dardari said that sanctions remained "a considerable obstacle" to Syria's growth trajectory.
"Syria needs tens of billions of dollars in investments and in technical assistance and so on, and that cannot happen with such heavy sanctions imposed on the country," he said, calling for sanctions "to be lifted in a comprehensive manner." Dardari said UNDP had secured a sanctions exemption from the US Treasury to mobilize up to $50 million to repair the Deir Ali power plant south of Damascus.
Three sources familiar with the issue told Reuters the World Bank is exploring hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to improve Syria's electricity grid and support the public sector.
Syria's central bank governor Abdelkader Husrieh told Reuters that his country wanted to be compliant with global financial standards but that sanctions were still "blocking the economy from going forward".
"We want to be part of the international financial system and hope that the international community will help us to remove any obstacle to this integration," he said.