By Manish Rai
Brigadier Basic Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander within the elite Quds Power of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and his deputy Basic Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi have been killed in an airstrike attributed to Israel on the Iranian consulate within the Syrian capital Damascus.
This assault has raised the geopolitical temperatures of the entire area as this has led to Iran firing lots of of missiles and drones towards Israel from Iranian territory. Gen. Zahedi’s demise was probably the most vital killing of an IRGC commander since america assassinated Quds Power chief Main Basic Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad in January 2020.
It is a main setback for Iran and IRGC’s community in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. However regardless of struggling vital losses from common assaults of Israelis in Syria. Iran’s revolutionary guards have a substantial presence in Syria and they’re actually holding Syria as a hostage. The IRGC stepped in to defend Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2013 when his grip on energy was challenged in the course of the civil warfare. However this was the one short-term purpose of IRGC. For the reason that starting of the Syrian battle, one of the crucial necessary targets of Tehran was to create the circumstances for an encirclement manoeuvre of the Israeli state. To realize that Iranians established spectacular army capabilities in Syria.
With the army presence in Syria Iran has cemented a zone of Iranian affect stretching by Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to the Mediterranean, serving to to counterbalance Tehran’s regional adversaries together with Israel. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Quds Power (IRGC-QF) reportedly has deployed an estimated 2000 operatives in Syria alone. Furthermore, Iran’s most trusted and valued proxy group Hezbollah’s bulk forces and allied militias have been deployed alongside the Lebanese-Syrian border. Hezbollah has additionally deployed fighters deeper into Syria, together with across the cities of Damascus and Homs.
There have been stories of Hezbollah fighters as distant as Deir al-Zour governorate within the Center Euphrates River Valley. The revolutionary guards have quite a few everlasting bases in Syria they usually home Quds Power personnel and the international Shia militias underneath its command. The Iranian installations in these bases embrace normal headquarters, regional command and management centres, intelligence cells, UAV battalions and runways, weapons and heavy gear depots, and different logistics amenities.
Along with this guards have a number of manufacturing vegetation in Syria that improve and produce rocket and missile arsenals for the Shia militia teams stationed in Syria, notably these of Lebanese Hezbollah. This effort is a part of a Quds Power marketing campaign to make sure a gentle provide of rockets/missiles to its proxies in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza. These Iranian amenities and Shia militias function largely autonomously from the Syrian authorities of Dr Bashar Al-Assad and take orders immediately from senior commanders of the IRGC.
It was not that Israelis have been holding quiet when Iran’s revolutionary guards have been strengthening their capabilities in Syria. Israel’s assaults in opposition to Iran-affiliated positions have been occurring from time to time. However the guards have suffered one in all their most bruising spells in Syria since October 7 since arriving almost a decade in the past. Particularly since December final yr, Israeli strikes have killed greater than half a dozen of their senior members, amongst them one of many guard’s prime intelligence generals.
Though the IRGC’s equipment in Syria has been underneath immense stress from Israeli airstrikes, Tehran is sticking to its mission of long-term presence in Syria. Iranians are simply altering the ways to function like- a lot of the IRGC-QF operatives have left their workplaces and have been staying out of sight. One factor is for certain Iran has no intention of quitting Syria as it’s a key a part of Tehran’s sphere of affect.
The expanded presence of Iranians, particularly in southern Syria, has already impacted Israel’s menace notion. In consequence, Israel’s assaults in opposition to Iran-affiliated positions have been on the rise. Israel is taking part in an aggressive defence, decided to maintain the Iranian menace out of its instant neighbourhood in Syria. In case of being attacked from Syrian territory, Israelis have used disproportionate pressure to reply and moreover have additionally attacked the Syrian infrastructure and the civilian centres.
Israelis usually are not shopping for this argument that Damascus has no management over the actions of the Iranian-backed militias working in Syria. Tel Aviv holds the Syrian authorities chargeable for any menace or assault rising from Syrian territory. The individuals of Syria are paying the heavy worth of this undeclared warfare between Iranians and Israelis. The frequent individuals have already suffered rather a lot due to the continuing civil warfare and the very last thing they require is one other battle of their nation.
Now it’s as much as the Syrian authorities to resolve whether or not they wish to sit on the sideline as a spectator and let Iran drag their nation into one other battle or to intervene and take cost. It’s the ethical obligation of the Syrian authorities to safeguard the nation from getting caught on this extended battle between Israel and Iran. President Assad must ask his Iranian allies to spare his nation and to take their battle in opposition to Israel some other place.
Additionally printed on Medium.