Iran's ambassador to Syria denied rumors of the embassy's shutdown in Damascus

Rumors about the termination of the work of the Iranian embassy in Syria are inaccurate. Iranian Ambassador Hosein Akbari told the Tasnim news agency on December 7.

"These allegations are not true. The Iranian embassy in Damascus is still working and continues its normal activities," he said.

The agency noted that the ambassador made the comment after rumors circulated in the media that Iran had evacuated its diplomatic staff from the embassy building in Damascus and transferred them to Lebanon.

Old things not yet forgotten: the conflict in Syria has escalated for the first time in five years

Whether there is a Western or Ukrainian trail in the escalation

Earlier in the day, the NYT reported on the beginning of the evacuation of Iranian military, diplomatic staff and their families from Syria. It also became known that among those evacuated to Iraq and Lebanon were high-ranking commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), personnel of the IRGC.

At the time, the U.S. Embassy in Syria advised American citizens to leave the country because of the risk of an emergency in the country and the unstable situation.

The Wall Street Journal learned about the proposal to the Syrian president from officials from Egypt and Jordan to leave the country and form a government in exile. At the same time, the Syrian Defense Ministry reported that the SAR servicemen together with the Russian air force were able to successfully conduct an operation and defeat terrorist units in the north of Homs province.

On November 28, the Syrian Defense Ministry reported that terrorist groups made a major attack in Aleppo and Idlib, and the country's army began to repel it, causing serious damage to the equipment and manpower of militants. The next day it became known that hundreds of terrorists in Aleppo and Idlib provinces were eliminated.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on November 30 called the activation of terrorists in Syria part of the U.S. plan against the background of Israel's defeat in Lebanon. In turn, the White House denied its involvement in what is happening. In addition, Britain, the U.S., France and Germany called on all parties in Syria to de-escalate.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 5 that Moscow was in contact with the Syrian authorities to escalate the situation in the country. He added that depending on the assessment of the situation, it would be possible to understand what kind of assistance the Syrian authorities need.