DUBAI, December 17. /TASS/. Israel will suffer a devastating defeat due to its incursion into Syria as the Islamic resistance forces will continue their fight, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

“The US, the Zionist regime, and some of their allies are taking advantage of developments in Syria to continue committing their crimes, trying to make it [the change of government in Damascus] look like the end of resistance. This is a grave mistake. The Gaza Strip and Lebanon continue fighting. Israel has invaded Syria to surround and destroy the Hezbollah forces. But it’s Israel that will be destroyed,” Khamenei said at a meeting with Iranian women.

On December 8, the Israeli military took control of the Syrian side of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, facing no resistance. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria was no longer in effect after Syrian troops had left the area following a change of government in Damascus. Israel continues to carry out airstrikes on military facilities in Syria.

On December 10, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Syria’s Navy had in fact been destroyed. On December 12, the Israeli army said that massive strikes on Syria had wiped out over 90% of the country’s identified strategic surface-to-air missiles.

In late November, armed opposition units launched a large-scale offensive on positions held by Syrian government forces. On December 8, they entered Damascus, prompting government troops to withdraw from the capital. Bashar Assad resigned as Syrian president and left the country. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who had led the so-called Syrian Salvation Government in the Idlib Province since January 2024, announced his appointment as head of Syria’s interim government. The interim period is expected to last until March 1, 2025.