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.



UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

The UN aid chief said Wednesday that recent "horrifying scenes" of Gazans being killed while seeking food aid were the result of "deliberate choices that have systematically deprived" them of essentials to survive.

A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of its facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were "considered combat zones".

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

"The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

"Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire.

"This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived two million people of the essentials they need to survive."

He echoed the call by UN chief Antonio Guterres for immediate independent investigations, saying they were not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

"No-one should have to risk their life to feed their children," said Fletcher.

The GHF began operations a week ago, but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Meanwhile the United Nations has described the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, as a trickle.

"We must be allowed to do our jobs: we have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience," said Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"Open the crossings -- all of them. Let in life-saving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in.

"Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire."