DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s embassy in the Syrian capital was stormed by unknown gunmen on Sunday following the capture of Damascus by Syrian rebels and the fall of Iran-allied Bashar al-Assad, Iranian state TV reported.
“It is said that the Iranian embassy was stormed alongside nearby stores by an armed group different from the group now controlling [most of] Syria,” Iranian state TV said, referring to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which spearheaded the rebel advances across western Syria.
Arab and Iranian media have shared footage from inside the embassy’s premises, where assailants rummaged through furniture and documents inside the building and damaged some windows.
Reuters could not verify the videos.
On Saturday, Iran said it was pulling out embassy families but denied a report by the New York Times that it was pulling out military personnel.
On the same day, Iran’s ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari spoke to state TV to say the embassy was still open with five to six diplomats and was carrying out high-level meetings to follow-up with the overall situation.
Iran’s state TV said HTS had guaranteed there would be no disturbance to the Sayeda Zeinab and Sayeda Ruqqaya shrines in Damascus.
Sayeda Zeinab – the granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammad – is venerated by Shi’ites and her shrine is a site of mass pilgrimage for Shi’ites from across the world. It has also been a magnet for Shi’ite militiamen in Syria.
HTS was formerly an al Qaeda affiliate known as the Nusra Front until its leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, severed ties with the global jihadist movement in 2016.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Christina Fincher)
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