In the status quo of the Middle
East, Syria acts as the source of mayhem and the spread of terrorism, and Iran
is taking advantage of Syria as the exporter of terrorism to countries across
the region and the entire globe.
The role of Iran and the Quds
Force in maintaining Bashar Assad in power in Syria may not be so clear for
all, and I would like to refer to a few remarks made by senior Revolutionary
Guards commanders regarding the Quds Force’s role in Syria. Ismaeel Gh’ani,
deputy commander of the Quds Force (second in command after Qassem Suleimani)
has said the following:
“One of the prides of the Islamic
Republic Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force is the protection of the legitimate
Syrian government in a time of civil war in this country. This was the Quds
Force that foiled the plans of all western countries. We were the ones who did
not allow the government to fall to the hands of terrorists. No one can deny
this vital and very important role of ours.
“Assad must remember that we did
not allow him to escape his country, at a time when we had even placed guards
for him so he would not flee Syria. He had sent his family to Latakia and a
message to the Russians to send a ship for him. It was us who said you don’t
have right to exit the country because if he did Syria would have fallen.
“Shortage of men has always been
one of the main problems. The Syrian army in 2011 when the war began had around
half a million men. During the past 4 or more years of war, due to defections,
desertions, draft dodging and casualties in the battlefield, right now they
have around 65,000 forces. In comparison to 2011 the number of Syrian army
troops has dropped dramatically. On the contrary, the enemy’s forces are
increasing by the day. Currently there are around 5,000 officials Quds Force
men present in Syria. There are also 7,000 Iraqi forces stationed in Syria and
Aleppo. Most of the non-official forces present on Syrian soil have been
stationed across the Damascus beltway. Other than Hezbollah forces, who are
alongside Syrian army forces at the frontlines of the attacking forces, others
such as Iraqi men and the Fatemiun from Afghanistan are also stationed on the
Damascus beltway.
“Syria is very important for
Iran. The subject of Syria provided a very grave lesson for the countries of
the entire region: if Iran supports a group, it is impossible for it to allow
that group to be destroyed or fall. Regional countries have now understood very
well that they must not attack Iran’s interests in the region…
Through the few paragraphs above
citing senior IRGC commander I sought to highlight the role played by Iran and
the Quds Force in Syria.
Recently, I came across a piece
saying “a group of Alawite, Lebanese and Syrian Shiites intellectuals and
activists have made a public call warning about Iran’s influence in Syria,
saying this matter has surpassed military backup and economic support of the Assad
regime, reaching the point of making decisions for the Assad regime, changing
the social fabric of the population based on religious lines.” These
intellectuals have taken a very necessary step to warn about Iran’s meddling in
Syria, but I wanted to tell them that Iran was making the decisions for Assad
in Syria starting more than 4 years, and unfortunately you are a bit late.
The element behind the rise of
ISIS in Syria was a plot carried out by the Quds Force in the face of real
opposition forces in Syria. The Quds Force plan was very complex and insidious in a way that on one hand it portrayed
this image to the entire world that if Assad is eliminated this country would
actually fall into the hands of ISIS and the likes of it. On the other hand, it
placed ISIS alongside Assad to confront Syria’s true opposition forces.
The 4-year and counting war in Syria has led to the expansion of two groups
against each other. ISIS against Shiite jihadists, and these two assemblies are
no different in nature. Both of their ideologies are based on hatred, the
spread of terrorism, war, murder and massacres.
The battlefields in Syria for the Quds Force is a training field for
terrorist groups, nurtured and raised by the Quds Force from countries such as
Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and … The Quds Force
dispatches these individuals for training to Syria, and after taking part in
the war defending Bashar Assad and proving their sacrifice for Iran, they are
then sent to carry out missions on their own turf.
What is taking place in Iraq these past few years is a mirror of what I
described above and the role of Syria and the Quds Force in the Middle East.
The Houthis’ rise to power in Yemen, all carried out under a Quds Force
plot, is yet another example of the Syria scenario.
All terrorist attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been carried
out by terrorists trained and briefed by the Quds Force.
If the world powers had blocked Iran’s meddling in the early days of the
Syria civil war, and forced Tehran to mind its own business back on its own
soil, the road map for the Middle East would be much different and it would
have prevented the expansion of ISIS and Shiite militants, and of course saved
the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and …
Currently, there is only one solution left before Middle East states: the
alliance of regional countries against Iran’s expansionism.
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