Days before Bashar Assad was ousted as Syrian president, Iranian forces and diplomats supporting him abandoned the longtime ruler as city after city fell to a lightning rebel offensive last December, sources said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/08/world/politics/iran-syria-assad-abandoned/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #iran #syria #middleeast #basharassad #syriancivilwar