WASHINGTON: The Washington Post reported while quoting US and European officials that Iran has pulled out the vast majority of its Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon after two decades where it helped create Hezbollah.

According to the officials, Iran, at one point, was estimated to have as many as 2,000 of its elite troops inside Lebanon. But today Tehran is reported to have from 12 to 50 military personnel in the country - and probably on the lower end of that range.

The daily said: “Although the phased drawdown began more than five years ago, senior officials and policymakers at the State Department and the National Security Council, in both the Bush and Clinton administrations, said they were unaware of it - and were surprised to learn of the moves long after the fact.”

“As recently as this month, Washington continued to press for the withdrawal of Iranian as well as Syrian forces from Lebanon.”

Pressed on Iran's military presence in Lebanon earlier this month, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said: "We want all foreign influences out of Lebanon. And I'm sure that there are multiple foreign influences in Lebanon. We all know that the Iranians have links also with Hezbollah."

The Post said Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who were deployed in response to Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, were pivotal in the formation and military training of Hezbollah. Their withdrawal further changes the local political and security dynamics, as Syria also pulls out its troops, because Iran is now less likely to try to return, officials say.

At the same time, however, Iran remains Hezbollah's main supplier and political ally, providing millions of dollars in financial aid, most of its military equipment - including Katyusha rockets that have been fired on Israel - and military expertise, the officials said.