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Steven Emerson,
Executive Director
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November 5, 2018
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Iran
Reportedly Building Syrian Military Base for Pro-Regime Militias
by IPT News • Nov 5, 2018 at
11:34 am
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With Hizballah's help, Iran has started building another military base
to serve pro-Iran militias in southwestern Syria, the Meir Amit
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center reports, citing the Syrian opposition website al-Souria
Net.
Iran began building the base in Daraa province after the Assad regime
took control over the region in July. Hizballah operatives are taking the
lead in the construction process, with help from Iraqi Shi'ite militia
fighters.
To create space for the military structure, Iran-affiliated terrorists
destroyed roughly 650 homes and multiple villages in the Lajat region.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) oversaw the transfer of
weaponry and ammunition to the region. Last month, IRGC officers and local
militia commanders reportedly met several times to improve weapon flows and
military coordination regarding the new base.
In February, satellite imagery exposed another Iranian military base outside of the Syrian
capital Damascus. That IRGC-run base reportedly has the ability to host
missiles that can strike any part of Israel.
Iran already oversees a military compound near the Damascus airport and
other high-profile airbases and permanent military sites across the country.
Iran continues to invest considerable resources in strengthening
relations with local allies in Syria, including Hizballah and other Shi'a
militias. But recent reports suggest that the Iranian axis is fostering
ties with unlikely partners: former U.S.-backed Sunni rebels in Syria.
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Hizballah recruited close to 2,000
fighters, most of whom from Syrian rebel groups that lost U.S. financing
last year. Hizballah is paying these rebels to switch sides and integrate
into a growing, Iranian-led force in southern Syria. Joining Hizballah also
offers assurances that the former opposition fighters will avoid detention
by the Syrian regime.
Recruiting local Sunni proxies allows Iran to enhance
its presence close to Israel's border after seemingly withdrawing from
the region to escape Israeli airstrikes.
In addition to building military infrastructure in Daraa province,
Iran's expanding its ideological reach and established a branch of a
Shi'ite religious organization in late October. Other IRGC-affiliated
organizations help spread the regime's radical ideology across Syria to
enhance the Islamic Republic's soft power presence in the country.
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