Syria’s new government has launched a sweeping crackdown on what remains of the Iranian regime’s transnational smuggling network, marking a major turning point in the collapse of Tehran’s regional influence. According to a Sky News Arabiya report published on April 13, the operation follows the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime last December and signals the end of what was once Iran’s critical land bridge into Lebanon and the eastern Mediterranean.
The Syrian government, now under President Ahmad Shara, is targeting long-established smuggling corridors along the 375-kilometer border with Lebanon—routes once used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to move weapons, fuel, cash, and narcotics to Hezbollah and other proxies. Forces loyal to the new administration have uncovered a vast network of arms caches, including Iranian missiles and military drones, particularly in the strategic town of al-Qusayr, near the Lebanese border.
“Al-Qusayr had become a central depot for Iranian weapons,” said Samer Abu Qassem, head of internal security in the city, pointing to crates labeled as containing Iranian missiles. Entire former industrial zones, Sky News Arabiya reports, were converted into weapons storage and drone training facilities.
#Iran News: Syrian Seizure of 3 Million Captagon Pills Exposes Iranian Regime’s Role in Regional Drug Traffickinghttps://t.co/i3JA1WKBjJ
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 22, 2025
Fifteen captagon drug factories—a major source of Hezbollah and Assad regime revenue—were discovered and dismantled, with local officials estimating the trade was worth tens of millions of dollars. Sky News also cited battlefield evidence showing Hezbollah’s hasty withdrawal from al-Qusayr and nearby villages last year.
In Tadmur (Palmyra), long used by IRGC-linked Afghan militias as a strategic desert junction, remnants of military compounds and extremist slogans like “Death to America” remained on walls once used to house foreign fighters. Syrian forces say they are still clearing landmines and explosive remnants from the area, but admit that “state control is fragile,” according to Zahir Salim, a local civilian official.
Security officials from both Syria and Europe told Sky News Arabiya that the clerical regime in Iran is now shifting tactics, seeking to destabilize the new Syrian state through alternative channels—including radical Sunni networks and tribal militias—after losing access to its traditional proxy forces. Though no direct evidence has been presented, European officials confirmed “indirect Iranian involvement” in recent coastal clashes and attempted arms smuggling.
#Iran News: Iranian Arms Smuggling to #Hezbollah Disrupted Amid Growing Tensions in Syriahttps://t.co/TI6ivQvm3O
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 27, 2025
The Syrian interior ministry recently intercepted over a dozen arms shipments bound for Lebanon. In one operation, drones were found hidden in livestock feed trucks. Officials say Hezbollah is desperately trying to evacuate remaining stockpiles before further Syrian or Israeli raids destroy them.
The collapse of the Iranian regime’s “land bridge” marks a devastating blow to its decades-long strategy of securing regional depth via proxy networks stretching from Tehran to Beirut. With Hezbollah now isolated, Assad gone, and key corridors dismantled, Tehran finds itself increasingly cornered—forced to improvise while facing growing pushback from former allies now in power in Damascus.