The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria was the culmination of a particularly bad year for the Iranian regime.
The Islamic Republic suffered major blows in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, weakening the power of the so-called Axis of Resistance. Iran’s currency was officially the world’s lowest value, Israel decimated its proxy forces, and the United States elected a president Iran despised so much that it spent years trying to assassinate him.
Let’s take a look back at the blows suffered by Hamein and his government over the past year.
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria was the culmination of a particularly bad year for the Iranian regime. (Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran, via AP, File)
April: Counterattack against Israel causes no damage
In April, Israel bombed the Iranian embassy in Syria, and Iran counterattacked with more than 300 drones and missiles aimed at Israel. But Israel, working with the United States, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, shot down almost all of the missiles and drones.
May: President dies in helicopter crash
Late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash while visiting a remote region. Iran blames dense fog for the crash. Raisi was a disciple of Iran’s supreme leader, Khameini, and a potential successor.
July: Hamas’s top commander is dismissed.
Iran installed a new president this summer, but Israel infiltrated the country to remove Hamas commander Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Tehran for the inauguration. Israel detonated a remote-controlled bomb while Haniyeh was staying in a government VIP guesthouse.
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October: Hamas leader and architect of October 7 attack killed
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) eliminated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar after encountering him during a routine patrol in the Gaza city of Rafah. Shinwar was the mastermind behind the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and was one of the most wanted men in the war.
Hamas has lost thousands of fighters and much of its leadership to Israeli attacks, and is far from the force Iran had hoped would pose a threat to Israel’s borders.
The Israel Defense Forces encountered Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a routine patrol in the Gaza city of Rafah and removed him. (AP)
November: Trump elected
Iran’s currency fell to an all-time low on news of Trump’s election and expectations that he would reinstate his “maximum pressure” policy.
The Iranian rial has fallen 46% this year, officially becoming the world’s least valuable currency.
Iran has long vowed revenge against President Trump for authorizing the killing of General Qasem Soleimani in 2019, but U.S. intelligence has revealed that Iran is planning to kill the next president.
After the Trump administration withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, it imposed harsh sanctions on the administration to stop funding its foreign proxies and prohibited American citizens from doing business with Iran or handling Iranian funds. .
It also imposed sanctions on companies from other countries that do business with Iran, including cutting off transactions with the dollar.
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President Joe Biden is keen to bring Iran back to the negotiating table to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and has often waived enforcement of those sanctions, fearing soaring global oil prices.
Iran’s currency fell to an all-time low on news of Trump’s election and expectations that he would reinstate his “maximum pressure” policy. (AP image)
Iran gained access to more than $10 billion through a State Department sanctions waiver that allows Iraq to continue buying energy from Iran, but the Biden administration says it needs to keep the lights on in Baghdad. claims.
November: Hezbollah signs ceasefire with Israel
In the fall, Israel redirected much of its effort toward striking Hezbollah following a series of cross-border attacks by Lebanese militants. Israel targeted Hezbollah leadership, detonating hundreds of pagers used by the group to communicate. In late November, Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire, under which both Hezbollah and Israel ended their military presence in southern Lebanon.
Both sides claim the other has broken a fragile ceasefire, which has ostensibly been in place for weeks.
December: Assad regime collapses
Syrian rebels deployed Iran’s Quds Force, part of the Revolutionary Guards, in seizing Damascus and ousting President Bashar al-Assad. Iranian forces have been supporting the Assad regime in Syria since the outbreak of civil war in 2011, but their support has diminished since wars broke out in other parts of the Middle East.
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Syria’s new government will be run by Sunni Muslims who are enemies of Iran’s Shiite government. And Iran lost a vital supply line through Syria that it used to arm Hezbollah in its fight against Israel.
