Iran ‘s top general in Syria acknowledged they were “defeated very badly” with the collapse of the Assad regime, which represented a candid assessment divergent from other messages out of Tehran since the fall of the government.

We were defeated and defeated very badly, we took a very big blow, and it’s been very difficult,” Esbati noted.

For the first time, Iran publicly admitted its defeat in Syria following the collapse of Bashar Assad's regime. Brig. Gen. Behrouz Esbati called the loss a "big blow" and said the defeat had been difficult for the Islamic Republic.

An Italian journalist detained in Iran last month has been freed and is on a flight back to Rome, the Italian government says. Cecilia Sala, 29, was arrested on 19 December, three days after an Iranian engineer was detained by Italian authorities in Milan on suspicion of supplying drone technology that led to the deaths of US soldiers.

Italian reporter Cecilia Sala hugged her partner and her parents on the tarmac at Rome's Ciampino military airport on Wednesday (January 8) after being freed from an Iranian prison. Sala was working under a regular journalistic visa when she was detained in Tehran on December 19,

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala had an emotional reunion with her boyfriend and her parents when she arrived in Italy after being released from detention in Iran. She was also welcomed back by Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.