Iran is going all out in their fight to save Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad with their covert operations chief Qassem Soleimani in and out of Syria for high level operations. Iran has become Assad’s ground army, while Russian air forces strike from above. The Iran-Russia tag team’s efforts are tasked with saving its embattled Syrian ally.
The Quds Force – Iran’s IRGC covert operations arm – has been in charge of Iranian support for the Assad regime since the beginning of the revolution in 2011. But now, an offensive jointly planned by Russia and Soleimani this past August has surged into action.
Within the past few months Iran has been adding more “advisors” to its presence in Syria, now totaling over 2,000. It is using Russian airstrikes to recapture territory from moderate opposition forces.
From casualties and funeral announcements, it can be determined that Iran is sending troops with diverse backgrounds, suggesting that Iran is drawing on a broad range of skills to prop up Assad’s forces. The Quds Force is helping Assad run hardware, use artillery, tactical planning and manage logistics, among other duties.
Iran says their troops are present in Syria only to advise. However, the deaths of Iranian forces show this is a lie.
New photos of Soleimani surfaced again on Twitter earlier this week showing the notorious “warlord” meeting in Aleppo. Although he is a designated terrorist under international sanctions that restrict his travel outside of Iran, the regime has been flouting the travel ban for some time as Soleimani freely moves in and out of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Russia.
A photo released today shows Soleimani addressing troops from Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (at left), an Iraqi Shi’ite militia created by the Quds Force in 2013.
While they were set to guarantee Assad’s success and continued reign of terror, in the last month Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have been hemorrhaging casualties, from third lieutenants all the way up to generals. The Daily Beast reports that the deaths are starting to show exactly whose boots are truly on the ground in Syria.
