The loss of the route through Syria is a blow to the Lebanese militia and its most important ally, Tehran.

The ascendance of Sunni Islamist rebels in Syria should be viewed with great caution by Western powers, but the Assad regime’s collapse disables a critical node in Iran’s regional proxy network, a counterterrorism expert explains.

The leader of the Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, Naim Qassem, on Saturday admitted that his group had lost a supply route after the overthrow of the allied regime of Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria.

Not long ago, Tehran’s network of militias appeared ascendant. “The resistance front has had a really hard year,” Iran’s foreign minister acknowledged.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addressed the “complex challenges” facing Syria and the broader region in a recent discussion, a recent report said. The report reflects the importance that Iran places on trying to find a way back to Damascus after the fall of the Assad regime.