Iran has begun evacuating its military personnel from Syria amid the advancing rebel forces, according to the New York Times.

Iran has begun the evacuation of its military command and personnel from Syria. Such actions by Tehran, one of Damascus's key allies, may indicate the inability to assist President Bashar al-Assad in maintaining power amid the advancing rebels.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing the American newspaper The New York Times.

Regional officials and three Iranian officials told American media about the start of the evacuation of Iranian military personnel and staff from Syria.

How the evacuation is taking place

It is noted that senior commanders of the "Quds" forces (literally "Jerusalem Forces"), which are one of the five external branches of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have already been evacuated to neighboring Iraq and Lebanon.

Iranian officials and regional authorities informed journalists that they evacuated the guards' personnel, part of the Iranian diplomatic staff, their families, and Iranian civilians.

"Iranians began leaving Syria on Friday morning, officials said on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue," NYT reports.

Evacuations are reported to be taking place at the Iranian embassy in Damascus and at IRGC bases.

Some of those to be evacuated are being transported by plane to Tehran, while others are being sent overland to Lebanon, Iraq, and the Syrian port of Latakia.

How the evacuation is explained

According to Iranian analyst Mehdi Rahmati, who advises officials on regional strategy, Tehran "is beginning to evacuate its forces and military personnel because we cannot fight as advisory and auxiliary forces if the Syrian army does not want to fight itself."

"The essence is that Iran has realized that it cannot currently handle the situation in Syria through any military operation, and this option is not being considered," he added in a conversation with media representatives.

The American press notes that the evacuation order marks a "significant turning point" for Assad, whose government Iran has supported throughout the 13-year civil war in Syria, and for Tehran itself, which has used Syria as a key route for supplying weapons to "Hezbollah" militants in Lebanon.

Iranian forces in Syria

Like Russia, another major ally of Assad, Iran has long sent advisors and commanders to Syria's bases and front lines, and Tehran has also supported various armed groups in the country.

Tehran has deployed "tens of thousands" of fighters, including Iranians, Afghans, and Pakistani Shiites, to protect Assad's government and reclaim territory from ISIS jihadists during the height of the civil war.

Some of the Iranian forces, such as the Afghan brigade "Fatemiyoun," have remained in Syria at military bases managed by Iran.

On December 6, they were also redeployed to Damascus and Latakia, which are considered strongholds of Assad's forces, Iranian officials told American journalists.

Flight of Iranian generals

Amid a large-scale offensive by rebels in Syria, who have managed to take control of major cities like Aleppo and Hama in just over a week, a certain territory in four provinces, and are heading towards Damascus, two senior generals of the Iranian "Quds" forces have already fled to Iraq.

According to NYT, these Iranian military generals were previously sent to advise the Syrian army and evacuated after rebels captured Homs and Deir ez-Zor on Friday.

Tehran observes Syria "on the brink of collapse"

"Syria is on the brink of collapse, and we are calmly observing this," wrote Iranian parliament member Ahmad Nadery on social media on December 6.

He added that if Damascus falls, Iran will also lose its influence in Iraq and Lebanon.

It should also be noted that on December 2, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported that Russian troops had left Syrian Hama and were fleeing from Damascus.

By the way, yesterday the leader of the Islamist group "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham," Abu Mohammad al-Julani, stated that the main goal of the rebels remains the overthrow of Bashar Assad's regime, as well as "building a new Syria".