Qasem Soleimani (left, holding microphone) talks to
Hezbollah operatives, probably in the region of Latakia, Syria (Facebook,
October 13, 2015).
Overview
- Iran increased its forces in Syria to support the Syrian army and Hezbollah
fighters in the ground offensive in the northwestern part of the country. Qasem
Soleimani, commander to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)
Qods Force went to Syria to oversee the deployment of the Iranian forces and
foreign fighters operating under the aegis of the IRGC.
- Iran's involvement in the ground offensive in northwest Syria has taken a
heavy toll of the IRGC. At least five of its officers and nine of its other
fighters have been killed in Syria since October 8, 2015.
- New information has been revealed about the coordination between Iran,
Russia and Syria before the Russian attack was launched in Syria.
- A conference in support of the Palestinian struggle in Jerusalem was held in
Tehran, attended by representatives of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad
(PIJ).
- Another delegation of Shi'ite Houthi rebels in Yemen arrived in Tehran for
meetings with senior Iranian officials.
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Iranian Intervention in Syria
- In the past weeks Iran has increased its IRGC forces in Syria as part of its
deploying to support the Syrian army and Hezbollah forces in the large ground
offensive initiated by the Assad regime in the northwestern part of the country.
On October 13, 2015, the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar
reported that on October 12, 2015, Iran sent the first group of IRGC forces to
join the Syrian army and Hezbollah forces in a large-scale action to restore
Syrian regime control in the northwestern part of the country. The objective of
the ground offensive's first stage is to restore Syrian control of the
countryside around the cities of Hama, Homs and Idlib, and then for the Syrian
army to reach the border with Turkey and join several Kurdish YPG units.
According to Al-Akhbar, Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani went to
northwestern Syria on October 11, 2015, to supervise the ground offensive. The
social networks posted a video and recent pictures of Soleimani in Syria with
Hezbollah and Iraqi Shi'ite militiamen, who were sent to Syria to reinforce the
fighters battling on the side of the Syrian regime.
- The Western media (Reuters, The Guardian and AP) also reported a significant
reinforcement of Iran fighters in Syria. Iran denied the reports. Last week
Hossein Amir Abdollahian, deputy foreign minister for Arab-African affairs, said
Iran had not sent soldiers to Syria but rather a group of "military advisors"
experienced in fighting terrorism, in accordance with a request from the Syrian
government. However, he confirmed that Iran had increased the number of its
"military advisors" in Syria, as requested by the Syrian regime, to help in the
"struggle against terrorism" (ISNA, October 15, 2015; Tabnak, October 20, 2015).
The Iranian foreign ministry also denied reports about Iranian forces having
being sent to Syria. The foreign ministry said in a statement that no change had
been made in Iran's collaboration with Syria, which was intended to "support
Syria in its struggle against terrorism" (ISNA, October 16, 2015).
- During a recent visit recently to Syria and Lebanon, Alaeddin Boroujerdi,
chairman of the Majlis Committee for Foreign Policy and National Security, also
mentioned the Iranian presence in Syria. He met with President Bashar Assad,
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
At a press conference in Damascus he said that if Syria asked Iran to send
Iranian ground forces to Syria, Iran would consider the request (Fars News
Agency and Tasnim News, October 15, 2015).
- Iran has paid a high price for its involvement in the ground offensive in
northwestern Syria. Since the death on October 8, 2015 of Brigadier General
Hossein Hamedani, one of the IRGC's highest-ranking commanders and a senior
military advisor, at least five other IRGC officers and ten fighters have been
killed.
- On October 12, 2015, two IRGC colonels were killed. They were Farshad
Hasounizadeh, a former commander of the Saberin Brigade, and Hamid Mokhtarband,
former commander of the IRGC brigade in Ahvaz (Shaheed News, October 13, 2015).
They were buried in Khuzestan on October 17, 2015 (Shaheed News, October 17,
2015). Saberin is an IRGC special forces brigade established in 1998 as a rapid
response force to threats along Iran's borders.
- On October 17, 2015, Moslem Khizab, a former commander of Zahra Battalion of
the 14th Imam Hossein Brigade was killed in Isfahan (IBNA, October
18, 2015). He was buried in Isfahan on October 20, 2015.
- In addition, two junior officers serving in the IRGC's 8th
Armored Brigade were killed. They were Hassan Ahmadi and Komeil Ghorbani, and at
least nine other fighters. They were Rasoul Pour-Morad from the city of Qazvin,
Mehdi Alidoust from Qom, Nader Hamidi from Khuzestan (reports differ as to
whether he was killed in Quneitra or Aleppo), Reza Damroudi from Sabzevar
(killed in al-Hasakah), Mohammad Estehkami Jahromi (from the IRGC's
33rd Special Forces Brigade), and two operatives of the Basij from
Hamedan, Mojtaba Karami and Majid Sanei. Also killed were Abdollah Baqeri (who
formerly served as a bodyguard for President Ahmadinejad), Amin Karimi and Reza
Khavari (a senior operative in the Fatemiyoun Brigade, a brigade of Afghans
fighting in the service of the IRGC).
- The relatively large number of Iranians killed, among them officers,
indicates that in all probability IRGC operatives are fighting in the front
lines of the ground offensive in northwestern Syria.
- With increasing Iranian involvement in Syria, senior Iranian officials
stressed Iran's commitment to continue its support of the Assad regime.On
October 11, 2015, Ali-Akbar Velayati, advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and
head of the Center for Strategic Studies in the Iranian Expediency Council, told
ISNA that as far as Iran was concerned, Bashar Assad was considered by Iran as a
"red line" and even the West could not suggest a replacement for him. He
stressed that there would be no resolution of the crisis in Syria without
Iranian involvement. Velayati called the Russian military offensive in Syria
"important and strategic," saying that the aerial umbrella Russia gave the
Syrian regime was necessary for the struggle against terrorism.
- Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Iranian Expediency Council, said that for
Iran there was no difference between the Iranian and Syrian borders. On the
margins of the funeral held for Hossein Hamedani, Rezaei said that it was Iran's
duty to defend Islam and Muslims because Iran saw no difference between Iran and
Syria. He added that Iran's security could not be ensured within its borders
alone, because its security was linked to that of the entire region (Fars News
Agency and Asr-e Iran, October 11, 2015).
- Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the IRGC, said that Syria was the front
line of Islam against "global arrogance and the Zionist regime" in the Middle
East and that the security of Western Asia depended on Syria and the resistance
front. During the funeral ceremony held for Hossein Hamedani, Jafari said that
the United States sought to topple the Syrian regime in order to extend its
influence to the Muslim states in the Middle East. He said that in the coming
days Syria would witness "a great victory" (Tabnak, October 12, 2015).
- As opposed to the official Iranian position in favor of Russian military
intervention in Syria, on October 15, 2015, the reform daily newspaper Shargh
published an article by Mohammad Ali Sobhani, former director general for Middle
East affairs in the Iranian foreign ministry. Sobhani claimed that the Russian
operation was not entirely in accordance with Iranian interests. He said that
Russia had always acted exclusively in its own interest, ignoring the interests
of others, and that even during the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the
Western powers Russia had not exploited its position to reinforce Iran's stance.
He warned that a coalition of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Russia might be met with
resistance by Arab states and could damage Iran's international and regional
standing. He said that before the Russian offensive in Syria Moscow had
consulted with the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia, which could indicate
coordination among them. The presence of Russia in Syria, he said, was liable to
be at Iran's expense, which would be well received by Israel, which had close
relations with Russia. Sobhani therefore recommended that Iran be careful in its
approach regarding Russian involvement in Syria, and ensure that it did not harm
Iran's national interests.
- At this stage there is no evidence for specific differences of opinion
within the Iranian regime concerning Iranian intervention in Syria. However,
increasing IRGC intervention may create disputes between the administration of
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the IRGC over Iran's strategy in Syria,
especially if Iranian intervention continues take a high human and economic
toll.
- On October 20, 2015, the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Safir
published new information about the coordination between Iran, Russia and Syria
which predated the Russian offensive in Syria. According to the paper, the three
countries began consulting during the nuclear talk in Vienna. The Iranians
warned the Russians that despite Iranian efforts to support the Syrian regime,
the Syrian army was weakening and suffered from a severe fuel shortage. At the
end of the spring of 2015 Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sent an envoy to
Moscow, who apparently convinced Russian President Putin to intervene militarily
in Syria. However, Putin asked for more time to discuss the operational aspects.
To that end Khamenei sent Qasem Soleimani on a covert mission to Moscow, where
on July 26, 2015, he met in the Kremlin with President Putin, Defense Minister
Sergei Shoygu and senior Russian army officers. They viewed maps of the
deployment of the various forces operating in Syria and decided that Iranian and
Russian officers would review developments in the arena in coordination with the
Syrian army.
- During the summer of 2015 Syria, Russia and Iran held intensive
consultations, mainly at the military level, which included visits of Syrian
delegations to Moscow, Russian delegations to Damascus, and the exchange of
information between Tehran and Moscow. The final decision about Russian
intervention in Syria was made in the middle of August at a meeting of the
Russian Supreme National Security Council chaired by President Putin. The
meeting authorized the suggestion of the Russian Chief of Staff to increase
Russian forces in Syria and to begin an aerial campaign. Putin said that
Soleimani had promised him an increase in the Iranian presence alongside the
Syrian army and assured him that the ground offensive would be significant.
Putin said all the actions would be directed by the ministry of defense in
Moscow, but that there would be direct communications between the operation
rooms in Syria and Moscow, via Russian military satellite. The Russian forces in
Syria would take orders from the operation room in Syria, where Syrian, Russian,
Iranian and Hezbollah officers would coordinate military moves. He said another
operation room would be established in Baghdad with the participation of Iraqi,
Syrian, Iranian and Russian officers, who would share information about the
terrorist groups operating in the region.
Iranian Intervention in
Lebanon
- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister
Gebran Bassil in Tehran, said that Iran had always supported the Lebanese
government, the Lebanese people and the "resistance," and that it was committed
to continuing its support. Rouhani said that Lebanon was at the front line of
the resistance to the Israeli occupation and that the "Zionist regime" was the
source of all the regional problems. Iran, he said, wanted to preserve Lebanon's
unity, territorial integrity and security (IRNA, October 18, 2015). Foreign
Minister Bassil also met with Ali-Akbar Velayati, advisor to the Supreme Leader
for international affairs. Velayati told him that Iran and Lebanon shared common
ground concerning Syria and objected to foreign intervention in the Middle East.
He said that the path of resistance to the "Zionist regime" and terrorism began
in Iran and continued from there to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. He added that there
was no difference between terrorists committing crimes in the name of Islam
against Muslims and non-Muslims and between Zionists, because both were enemies
of humanity and Islam (Mehr News Agency, October 19, 2015).
Iranian Intervention in
Iraq
- According to a report published in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar about
the deployment of IRGC forces in Syria, Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani
paid a visit to the city of Baiji in Iraq before going to Syria. The objective
of the visit was apparently to coordinate the recently-begun operation to
liberate the city from ISIS.
- In the meantime, the social networks posted recent pictures of Iranian
developed BMP-1 APCs used by Iraqi Shi'ite militias near Baiji.
Iranian Intervention in Yemen and the Gulf
States
- A Yemeni delegation arrived in Tehran on October 14, 2015, to meet with
senior Iranian officials. The delegation was composed of representatives from
the Yemeni Ba'ath Party, the Socialist Party and the Ansarollah (Shi'ite
Houthis) (Alef, October 14, 2015). Another Yemeni delegation, composed of
members of the Yemeni Supreme Revolutionary council (established by the Houthis
in February 2015 after they took control of the capital city of Sanaa) paid a
visit to Tehran at the beginning of October and discussed recent developments in
Yemen in view of the Saudi Arabian attacks.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, interviewed by the Kuwaiti
newspaper Al-Ra'i, denied an Iranian connection to the terrorist cell recently
exposed in Kuwait. He said Iran had said a number of times that it did not
intervene in the internal affairs of regional countries (Fars News Agency,
August 14, 2015). His declarations came in the wake of an announcement made by
the Kuwaiti attorney general at the beginning of September about the trial of 25
Kuwaiti and Iranian nationals accused of possessing weapons and explosives for
carrying out terrorist attacks in Kuwait and of spying for Iran and Hezbollah.
Iranian Intervention in the Palestinian
Arena
- On October 13, 2015, a conference was held in Tehran in support of the
Palestinian struggle in Jerusalem. It was attended by Khaled Qadoumi, Hamas'
representative in Tehran; Naser Abu-Sharim, PIJ representative in Tehran; and
Hossein Sheikh ol-Islam, secretary general of the "Committee to Support Intifada
and Jerusalem" and advisor to the Majlis (Iranian parliament) chairman in
international affairs. The conference discussed the recent escalation in
Jerusalem. Sheikh ol-Islam gave a speech in which he said that the "current
intifada" was a golden opportunity to restore the issue of Palestine to the top
of the Muslim world's agenda. He quoted Ayatollah Khomeini, who said that "the
fate of Islam will be decided in Palestine" (Fars News Agency, October 13,
2015).
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