Iran sent aircraft with troops to Syria to save Bashar al-Assad but Israeli F-16s scared them away

More details of the rebellion that ousted former President of Syria Bashar al-Assad continue to come out after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu detailed how Israel foiled Iran's plan to save Assad by sending in troops. Netanyahu, in a conference on Sunday, said Iran, already upset at how Israel bombed Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, wanted to save Assad.

"They had to rescue Assad," Netanyahu said. Iran reportedly sent one or two airborne divisions to help the Syrian leader in a last-ditch effort after rebels led by Syrian rebels Hayat Tahrir al-Sham advanced to Damascus, after capturing major cities.

"We stopped that. We sent some F-16s to some Iranian planes that were making some routes to Damascus. They turned back," Netanyahu said. He, however, did not give any further details.

Though Netanyahu directly helped the rebels, analysts believed Israel did not directly intervene in the removal of Assad. Netanyahu had earlier warned Assad that on November 27, the day Syria's rebel offensive began, he was "playing with fire" by supporting Hezbollah and helping to transfer weapons to Lebanon. However, analysts believe Israel did not want a government change in Syria lest Islamists or jihadist groups take over.

Assad, who fled to Moscow after the fall of the regime, continues to lie low-key. Though Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa had requested Russia to extradite the former President, Russian authorities denied it, according to the Jordanian newspaper Rai-al-Youm. "The asylum of Bashar al-Assad and his family was issued based on the direct orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the decision in this regard will not change," Russian Ambassador to Baghdad, Alperus Kotrashev told Syrian media.

Assad, who reunited with his family in Moscow, was strictly mandated to stay away from any media and political activity by Russian authorities, which he had obeyed. 

Middle East