An Iranian general said that Russia was actually bombing an empty desert while it claimed it was attacking Syrian rebels.

• Behrouz Esbati, an Iranian general, partially blamed Russia for the fall of Bashar Assad in Syria.

• In his speech in Tehran, Esbati accused Russia of bombing an empty desert instead of attacking Syrian rebels.

• Although it is difficult to verify, his frank statement is noteworthy since Russia is one of Iran's strongest allies.

A top Iranian general has accused Russia of lying to Tehran that its planes were attacking Syrian rebels while bombing the desert.

In an unusual moment in Iran's line of communication in Syria, Brig. Gen. Behrouz Esbati partially blamed Moscow for the fall of Bashar Assad's government during a speech at a mosque in Tehran.

A recording of the speech was published on Tuesday by Abdullah Abdi, a Geneva-based journalist who reports on Iran.

“We lost, and we lost very badly. We took a very heavy blow, and it was very heavy,” Esbati said of Assad's fall, according to a New York Times version.

On the record, Esbati, the top commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Russia had told Tehran it was bombing the headquarters of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel group that led the ouster of Assad.

But Moscow's forces were instead “targeting the deserts,” Esbati said.

Esbati also accused Russia of turning off radars during Israel's attack on Syria in 2024, allowing Tel Aviv's military to launch a successful attack.

The general also strongly blamed internal corruption for the fall of Assad, saying that bribery is rife with high-ranking Syrian officials and generals.

He also added that relations between Damascus and Tehran have been strained over the past year because Assad rejected Iran's request to facilitate Israel's attack on Syria.

Business Insider could not independently verify Esbati's claims. But they represent a frank assessment among Iran's top officials of its position in Syria, where a new political leadership is still being assembled in Assad's absence.

Iran has officially maintained a soft tone as Assad's government falls, saying that at that time the fate of Syria will be in the hands of its people and “we will not stop trying to help establish security and stability in Syria.”

Assad, a long-time ally of Iran and Russia, fled Damascus in early December as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants stormed the capital from the northwest. International observers believe that this rebel advance is happening more and more as Moscow, the main source of Assad's military power, finds its resources dwindling due to the war in Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment by BI sent outside normal business hours.

Esbati's comments came as a former top Assad aide told Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had suspended military aid to Syria.

Kamel Saqr said Assad asked Putin to personally authorize airlift of military aid to Syria – and that the Russian leader agreed.

Aid was to be flown in by an Iranian plane, but Saqr said Tehran had told Assad it was not receiving requests from Moscow.

Assad then asked Moscow about this, but “there was no answer,” Saqr said.

The fall of Assad, which neither Moscow nor Tehran stepped up to prevent, brought a deep impact on Russian forces in the region. Previously, Moscow relied on the air base and naval base, which it had maintained under the agreement with Assad, for its operations in Africa and the Mediterranean.

It is not clear whether Russia will be able to continue to maintain those two facilities, but reports indicate that it is preparing to withdraw most of its assets from Syria. On Friday, Ukraine said Moscow plans to move its assets to Libya.

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