Just two weeks after Russia announced it would be withdrawing the majority of its troops from Syria, Iranian media and officials seem upbeat about the progress against the opposition to the Syrian government and Russia’s involvement in the Syrian civil war.

“The situation in Syria is very good,” Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said March 28. “Even taking into account the cease-fires that are underway, there is no change in policy by Russia and it is in coordination with the resistance front.”

The shift toward more optimism is the result of government troops' — backed by Russian airstrikes and Hezbollah — retaking the ancient city of Palmyra. When Islamic State (IS) militants took over the city in May 2015 and destroyed ancient sculptures, it caught the attention of the world media.

Palmyra is important to the identity of the Syrian government due to its ancient history, according to Iranian analyst Sadollah Zarei, who often writes for hard-line media outlets. He said that the loss for IS in Palmyra, and the retreat of other armed groups in parts of Quneitra and Aleppo, will have a “psychological impact.”