Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said the collapse of the Syrian government on December 8 was a product of a "joint American-Zionist plan" in his first public comments on the Assad regime's collapse over the weekend.

In an address on December 11 to the faithful, he said the current interim Syrian government had and still has a clear role in the downfall, but the central command room is the US and Israel.

His comments come out as newly leaked documents show that in 2022, the former Al-Assad regime was in communication with Israel, documents leaked on social media site X.com.

Khamenei's calm comments come as Iran appears to have been cut out of proceedings for Assad's departure on December 7, where new information coming to light shows that Turkey and the United Arab Emirates were aware of his plans to leave the country. Assad's private jet (C5SKY) landed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Abu Dhabi before the former dictator appeared in Moscow a day later.  

"There should be no doubt that what happened in Syria is the product of a joint American-Zionist plan."

"Yes, a neighbouring country of Syria plays and has played an obvious role in this regard and is still playing it – everyone sees this – but the main conspirator, the main planner, and the main command room are in America and the Zionist regime. We have evidence. This evidence leaves no room for doubt."

Khamenei's comments come as Israeli troops are now occupying even more land in the Golan area of Syria following the collapse of the regime. The Lebanese foreign ministry later confirmed this on December 11.

In a statement published by the Syrian Al Watan newspaper, the Lebanese foreign ministry reportedly said: "This occupation is an additional attack on the unity and sovereignty of Syria and a flagrant violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions."

Khamenei, in an angry speech, said: "I tell you that by divine power and strength, the resistance front will spread throughout the region more than before."

The Supreme Leader stressed: "This is resistance, this is the resistance front: the more pressure you apply, the stronger it becomes; the more crimes you commit, the more motivated it becomes; the more you fight them, the more widespread it becomes. And I tell you that by divine power and strength, the resistance front will spread throughout the region more than before."

Iranian troops, including members from the feared Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Al-Quds division, departed Syria on December 7, on the orders of Tehran, according to a video uploaded to social media. 

Khamenei's final statement noted: "That ignorant analyst who is unaware of the meaning of resistance thinks that when the resistance is weakened, Islamic Iran will also be weakened. And I say, by divine power and strength, with God's permission, Iran is strong and powerful and will become even more powerful."

The zealous Syrian youth will liberate the occupied areas of Syria, and there is no doubt that this will happen, Khamenei said. The foothold of the United States will not be strengthened, and by the grace of God, the United States will also be expelled from the region by the Resistance Front.

The Iranian clerical leader said Iran was in Syria on the behest of the former regime and that its role was advisory and to protect Shi'ite holy shrines in Damascus and elsewhere, he stressed.

"What does advisory mean? That is, the establishment of important central and main bases, the determination of strategies and tactics, and in times of necessity to enter the battlefield, but most importantly, the mobilisation of the youth of that region itself, of course, our youth, and our Basijis also left impatiently, enthusiastically, and with insistence, many of them left".