Baluarte
05-06-2013, 08:32 AM
Iran sends Army into Syria: Revolutionary Guards to help Assad as Israel bombs capital
The move comes as Israeli steps up its own involvement in the bloody civil war
Iranian forces are flooding in to war-ravaged Syria to back up President Assad’s ailing forces.
Crack troops including Revolutionary Guards have flown in and a Western intelligence source said Iran now has more than 1,500 military personnel in Syria.
The move comes as Israeli steps up its own involvement in the bloody civil war. Yesterday its warplanes attacked the Syrian capital of Damascus, triggering three huge explosions.
The source said: “The scale of Iran’s military input has suddenly increased. The deployment is a notable expansion of Iran’s willingness and ability to project military force beyond its borders.”
The Revolutionary Guards sent by Iran includes members of its elite Quds Force, and there are intelligence officers and law enforcers inside Syria too.
It is believed the Islamic state is helping Assad’s brutal “Shabiha” ghost squads, who act as plain clothes assassination teams to target rebels.
As a largely Shia Muslim country, Iran is terrified that Syria, still ruled by Assad’s Shia minority, might be taken over by Sunni al-Qaeda- supporters who have latched on to the rebel uprising.
Missile: The Fateh-110
AP
Hit: Smoke and fire fill the the skyline over Damascus, Syria
AP
The source added: “If the West continues to support the uprising it might find it is involved in a proxy war with Iran in Syria. Tehran is keen to keep Assad in power, especially as it needs a foothold against Israel and America.
“It has long supported the Assad regime and will continue to do so, but pouring this many troops and with this military structure is a new development.”
Iran’s move came as Israel bombed a military and scientific research centre, with the Syrian foreign ministry claiming several dead and wounded.
Officials said the blasts were aimed at highly accurate Iranian-made Fateh-110 missiles believed to be on their way to Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah militants, allied to both Iran and Syria. The attack was the second in three days and Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad yesterday called it “a declaration of war”.
Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi added that the Israeli strikes “open the door to all possibilities”.
Fighter: An Israeli F-16
Getty
Videos showed a series of explosions. Mohammed Saeed, of the Damascus suburb of Douma, said: “The explosions were so strong the earth shook under us.” Another man said: “The sky was red all night. We didn’t sleep a single second.”
There have been fears Syria is using scientific centres to produce chemical weapons to use against rebels.
Israel previously said it wanted to stay out of the conflict, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly warned he would take action to prevent sophisticated weapons flowing from Syria to Hezbollah or other extremist groups.
The attack follows major debate in the United States over whether Assad’s use of chemical weapons might push President Barack Obama to send in military aid to back the rebels.
But Western powers are still concerned at the presence of anti-Western Islamist fighters among Assad’s opponents.
It was not clear last night if Israel had sought US approval for the action.
Fearsome: The tough Iranian revolutionary guard volunteers
Reuters
One step closer to a Middle East war - analysis by Chris Hughes
The air-strikes on Syria are as much about sending out a warning to Israel’s enemies as wiping out missiles which could be used against them.
They have destroyed ground-to-ground rockets that Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu fears could have been used against his citizens by Syria or their Hezbollah allies.
By taking out the rockets, Israel is showing that once again it will not back down in a fight against its Middle Eastern neighbours – and crucially, it will strike first.
Syria’s President Assad has a close bond with Israel’s arch-enemy Iran, which is arming and financing Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other groups in Gaza and even the West Bank.
For years his Shia minority regime has pacified Sunni Muslims – who are trying to overthrow him – with their mutual loathing of Israel, which is now surrounded by Iranian proxy forces in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.
In Syria, an entire brigade of Iranian elite forces is now helping Assad. Iran sees Syria as an extension of its influence in the Middle East as it does with Lebanon, so it needs to keep Assad in power – something Israel definitely does not want.
And the movement of arms in Syria to Hezbollah’s fighters in Lebanon would be a huge threat to Israel.
A former Israeli pilot once summed up his country’s strike-first policy. He told me: “We live in a tough neighbourhood. So we have to be the biggest bully on the block. If they come at us with a stick we’ll hit them with a bigger one.”
Assad is desperate, with both Free Syrian Army rebels and Islamist factions trying to overthrow his hated regime. He needs to offer arms to his Hezbollah supporters or possibly make a move against Israel to bolster support.
Israel had already warned Assad that the movement of deadly missiles would be a game-changer – a warning he clearly ignored. Israel has finally declared “enough is enough” to Assad and his Tehran backers and there are fears of war breaking out.
If Syria opens fire in return, or Iran’s allies in Lebanon and Gaza decide to fire large numbers of rockets into Israel, war will be declared. And there is every chance of this happening.
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The move comes as Israeli steps up its own involvement in the bloody civil war
Iranian forces are flooding in to war-ravaged Syria to back up President Assad’s ailing forces.
Crack troops including Revolutionary Guards have flown in and a Western intelligence source said Iran now has more than 1,500 military personnel in Syria.
The move comes as Israeli steps up its own involvement in the bloody civil war. Yesterday its warplanes attacked the Syrian capital of Damascus, triggering three huge explosions.
The source said: “The scale of Iran’s military input has suddenly increased. The deployment is a notable expansion of Iran’s willingness and ability to project military force beyond its borders.”
The Revolutionary Guards sent by Iran includes members of its elite Quds Force, and there are intelligence officers and law enforcers inside Syria too.
It is believed the Islamic state is helping Assad’s brutal “Shabiha” ghost squads, who act as plain clothes assassination teams to target rebels.
As a largely Shia Muslim country, Iran is terrified that Syria, still ruled by Assad’s Shia minority, might be taken over by Sunni al-Qaeda- supporters who have latched on to the rebel uprising.
Missile: The Fateh-110
AP
Hit: Smoke and fire fill the the skyline over Damascus, Syria
AP
The source added: “If the West continues to support the uprising it might find it is involved in a proxy war with Iran in Syria. Tehran is keen to keep Assad in power, especially as it needs a foothold against Israel and America.
“It has long supported the Assad regime and will continue to do so, but pouring this many troops and with this military structure is a new development.”
Iran’s move came as Israel bombed a military and scientific research centre, with the Syrian foreign ministry claiming several dead and wounded.
Officials said the blasts were aimed at highly accurate Iranian-made Fateh-110 missiles believed to be on their way to Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah militants, allied to both Iran and Syria. The attack was the second in three days and Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad yesterday called it “a declaration of war”.
Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi added that the Israeli strikes “open the door to all possibilities”.
Fighter: An Israeli F-16
Getty
Videos showed a series of explosions. Mohammed Saeed, of the Damascus suburb of Douma, said: “The explosions were so strong the earth shook under us.” Another man said: “The sky was red all night. We didn’t sleep a single second.”
There have been fears Syria is using scientific centres to produce chemical weapons to use against rebels.
Israel previously said it wanted to stay out of the conflict, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly warned he would take action to prevent sophisticated weapons flowing from Syria to Hezbollah or other extremist groups.
The attack follows major debate in the United States over whether Assad’s use of chemical weapons might push President Barack Obama to send in military aid to back the rebels.
But Western powers are still concerned at the presence of anti-Western Islamist fighters among Assad’s opponents.
It was not clear last night if Israel had sought US approval for the action.
Fearsome: The tough Iranian revolutionary guard volunteers
Reuters
One step closer to a Middle East war - analysis by Chris Hughes
The air-strikes on Syria are as much about sending out a warning to Israel’s enemies as wiping out missiles which could be used against them.
They have destroyed ground-to-ground rockets that Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu fears could have been used against his citizens by Syria or their Hezbollah allies.
By taking out the rockets, Israel is showing that once again it will not back down in a fight against its Middle Eastern neighbours – and crucially, it will strike first.
Syria’s President Assad has a close bond with Israel’s arch-enemy Iran, which is arming and financing Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other groups in Gaza and even the West Bank.
For years his Shia minority regime has pacified Sunni Muslims – who are trying to overthrow him – with their mutual loathing of Israel, which is now surrounded by Iranian proxy forces in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.
In Syria, an entire brigade of Iranian elite forces is now helping Assad. Iran sees Syria as an extension of its influence in the Middle East as it does with Lebanon, so it needs to keep Assad in power – something Israel definitely does not want.
And the movement of arms in Syria to Hezbollah’s fighters in Lebanon would be a huge threat to Israel.
A former Israeli pilot once summed up his country’s strike-first policy. He told me: “We live in a tough neighbourhood. So we have to be the biggest bully on the block. If they come at us with a stick we’ll hit them with a bigger one.”
Assad is desperate, with both Free Syrian Army rebels and Islamist factions trying to overthrow his hated regime. He needs to offer arms to his Hezbollah supporters or possibly make a move against Israel to bolster support.
Israel had already warned Assad that the movement of deadly missiles would be a game-changer – a warning he clearly ignored. Israel has finally declared “enough is enough” to Assad and his Tehran backers and there are fears of war breaking out.
If Syria opens fire in return, or Iran’s allies in Lebanon and Gaza decide to fire large numbers of rockets into Israel, war will be declared. And there is every chance of this happening.
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