A U.S. newspaper says Iran has withdrawn most of its Revolutionary Guards from Lebanon, where they were deployed more than 20 years ago and helped create the Shi'ite Muslim movement Hezbollah.
Citing U.S. and European officials, the Washington Post says only 15 to 20 Iranian military personnel remain in Lebanon, where at one point Iran was estimated to have as many as two-thousand of its elite troops.
Iran is said to have begun the phased withdrawal more than five years ago, but did not publicly announce it.
Iran had deployed troops to protect Lebanon's Shi'ite population, after Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
The United States has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon.
Syria has promised to finish the withdrawal of thousands of its troops from Lebanon by the end of the month.
Some information for this report provided by AFP.
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