Why did Syrian President Bashar al-Assad take refuge in Moscow, why did he not trust Iran?

Iran has suffered another major setback in the Middle East. Rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham overthrew the government of Iran's ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria within 11 days. Meanwhile, President Bashar al-Assad hurriedly resigned and reached Moscow. According to reports, his family had also reached Moscow before the coup.

On the other hand, after failing to save the Assad government in Syria, Russia has given political asylum to the Assad family. The two closest friends of Damascus in the Assad government have been Russia and Iran. The distance between Syria and Iran is about 1900 kilometers while the distance to Russia is more than 4500 kilometers. In such a situation, the question arises why did Assad decide to go to Moscow instead of going to Tehran even in this difficult time?

Why did Assad take refuge in Moscow?

In fact, even though Iran is close to Syria, it cannot provide security like Moscow. A few months ago, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyya was present in Tehran as a state guest but he was killed in an attack. Israel may not have taken responsibility for the murder of Haniyya, but many experts consider Israel to be responsible for this attack. It is being said that Turkey and Israel are together on the issue of Syria, that is, if Assad had gone to Iran, it is possible that Turkey could have created problems for him through Israel.

Security is not guaranteed in Iran!

Iran itself is currently in a big crisis. A few days ago, a media report citing Israeli officials claimed that Trump's close aides are planning to overthrow Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, so it is much safer for the Assad family to live in Moscow than in Tehran.

Assad government was overthrown in just 11 days.

In Syria, rebel groups started action against the government on 27 November, and on 8 November, i.e. in just 11 days, the rebels captured the capital Damascus. Iran and Russia tried to save the Assad government but they were not successful. While Iran's proxy groups have become weak in the war with Israel, Russia has been fighting a war against Ukraine for 33 months. In such a situation, both the major allies of Syria failed in front of the aggression of the rebels. During this time, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad resigned a few hours before the coup and left for Moscow, he took refuge in Russia with his family.