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Iranian intervention in the Syrian civil war

September 01, 2023

The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic are close strategic allies, and Iran has provided significant support for the Syrian government in the Syrian civil war, including logistical, technical and financial support, as well as training and some combat troops. Iran sees the survival of the Syrian government as being crucial to its regional interests.[43][44][45] When the uprising developed into the Syrian Civil War, there were increasing reports of Iranian military support, and of Iranian training of the National Defence Forces both in Syria and Iran.[46] From late 2011[47] and early 2012, Iran's IRGC began sending tens of thousands of Khomeinist militants in co-ordination with Assad regime to prevent the collapse of the Syrian Arab Army; thereby polarising the conflict along sectarian lines.[48][49]

Iranian intervention in the Syrian Civil War
Part of foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war and the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict

Iranian and Hezbollah's (marked in blue) military presence and influence in Syria as of December 2020
Date9 June 2013[17] — present
(10 years, 2 months and 3 weeks)
Location
Syria and Lebanon
Result

Ongoing

  • Government forces capture more than 705 settlements and over 17,000 sq km of territory[18]
  • Major government gains in provinces of Latakia, Palmyra, Raqqa, Damascus, and Aleppo[19]
Belligerents

Islamic Republic of Iran[1]

Iran-sponsored militias:

In support of:
Syrian Arab Republic

Supported by:
 Russia (airstrikes)[4]

Syrian Interim Government

Supported by:

Syrian Islamic Front

Supported by:

Syrian Salvation Government

Supported by:

 Al-Qaeda[9][10]

Islamic State

Syrian Democratic Forces

  • YPG
  • YPJ
  • Other SDF groups and allies

Supported by:
CJTF-OIR (since 2014)

Iraqi Kurdistan[16] (limited involvement)
Commanders and leaders
Ali Khamenei
(Supreme Leader of Iran)
Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani †[20][21]
(Quds Force chief commander)
Brig. Gen. Dariush Dorosti †[22]
(IRGC commander)
Maj. Abolghassem Zahiri (WIA)[1]
(102nd Imam Hossein Battalion commander)
Ahmad Gholami †
(Iranian paramilitary commander)

Salem al-Meslet (President)
Col. Riad al-Assad (Founder of FSA)
Brig. Gen. Mustafa Al-Sheikh (Head of Higher Military Council)
Gen. Salim Idris (Former Chief of Staff of SMC)
Brig. Gen. Hassan Hamada (Chief of Staff of SNA)

Zahran Alloush † (Chief of Islamic Front)
Hassan Aboud †
Abu Jaber Shaykh
Hassan Soufan

Abu Khayr al-Masri †[23]
(al-Qaeda deputy leader)
Abu Humam al-Shami[24]
Abu Hajer al-Homsi (al-Nusra Front military chief)[25]
Khalid al-Aruri (Former leader of Hurras al-Din)[26]

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi †

Zoran Birhat[27]
(YPJ senior commander)
Ciwan Ibrahim[28]

(Asayish head)
Strength

2,000 soldiers according to the US (denied by Iran)[29]
10,000 IRGC fighters (2015)[30]

5,000+ Iranian army soldiers (2015)[32]

14,000+ fighters (2017)[33]
10,000+ fighters (2017)[34]
c. 2,000 al-Nujaba fighters[3]
120+ Naval Infantry advisors, several BMPs[35][36]		 ?
Casualties and losses

10,400 killed (SOHR claim)[37]

 Unknown Unknown Unknown

Iranian security and intelligence services are advising and assisting the Syrian military in order to preserve Bashar al-Assad's hold on power.[43] Those efforts include training, technical support, and combat troops.[43][50] Estimates of the number of Iranian personnel in Syria range from hundreds to tens of thousands.[44][51][52] Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, backed by Iran's government, have taken direct combat roles since 2012.[44][53] From the summer of 2013, Iran and Hezbollah provided important battlefield support for Assad, allowing it to make advances on the opposition.[53]

In 2014, coinciding with the peace talks at Geneva II, Iran stepped up support for Syrian President Assad.[44][53] Estimates of financial assistance range from tens to hundreds of billions of dollars.[54][55][56][57][58] Iranian regime has portrayed its intervention as part of a religious and historical revanchist mission to subordinate Sunnis and seek vengeance. Tehran's objectives include attempts to Shi'ification through forced conversions, Shia missionary activities, establishment of shrines and demographic transformations by bringing in foreign Twelver Shia settlers in regime-controlled territories.[59][60]

Iranian troops and allied militias on the ground are supported by ballistic missile and air forces, including armed drones utilizing smart munitions. By October 2018, Iranian drones had launched over 700 strikes on Islamic State forces alone.[61] At the height of its intervention in 2015-18, an estimated 10,000 IRGC forces and 5,000 Iranian Army members had been deployed to Syria. As of 2018, 2000 officers of the Quds Forces command an estimated 131 military garrisons and tens of thousands of Iran-backed Shia jihadists across regime-controlled regions.[62] As of 2023, Iran maintains 55 military bases in Syria and 515 other military points, the majority in Aleppo and Deir Ezzor governorates and the Damascus suburbs; these are 70% of the foreign military sites in the country.[63]

Background Edit

See also: Iran–Syria relations

Iran sees the survival of the Syrian government as being crucial to its interest. Its only consistent ally since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Syria provides a crucial thoroughfare to Hezbollah in Lebanon. IRGC have boasted Syria as being Iran's "35th province", in addition to viewing Bashar al-Assad's Alawite dominated Ba'athist government as being a crucial buffer against the influence of Saudi Arabia and the United States.[44]

The Syrian city of Zabadani is vitally important to Assad and to Iran because, at least as late as June 2011, the city served as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's logistical hub for supplying Hezbollah.[64] Prior to the Syrian war, Iran had between 2,000 and 3,000 IRGC officers stationed in Syria, helping to train local troops and managing supply routes of arms and money to neighboring Lebanon.[44]

In April 2014, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iranian deputy foreign minister said, "We aren't seeking to have Bashar Assad remain president for life. But we do not subscribe to the idea of using extremist forces and terrorism to topple Assad and the Syrian government".[65] Using its increased leverage during the civil war, Iranian government has been recruiting Alawites by setting up Khomeinist religious centres to convert them to Twelver Shi'ism. It has also been attempting demographic shifts by bringing in foreign Shia settlers and families of IRGC soldiers across Syria.[66]

Timeline Edit

2011 Edit

In the civil uprising phase of the Syrian civil war, Iran was said to be providing Syria with technical support based on Iran's capabilities developed following the 2009–2010 Iranian election protests.[45]

In April 2011 U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice accused Iran of secretly aiding Assad in his efforts to quell the protests,[67] and there were reports of Syrian protesters hearing security-force members speaking Persian.[68]

The Guardian reported in May 2011 that the Iranian government was assisting the Syrian government with riot control equipment and intelligence monitoring techniques.[69] According to US journalist Geneive Abdo writing in September 2011, the Iranian government provided the Syrian government with technology to monitor e-mail, cell phones and social media. Iran developed these capabilities in the wake of the 2009 protests and spent millions of dollars establishing a "cyber army" to track down dissidents online. Iran's monitoring technology is believed to be among the most sophisticated in the world, perhaps only second to China.[45]

2012 Edit

In May 2012, in an interview with the Iranian Students News Agency which was later removed from its website, the deputy head of Iran's Quds Force said that it had provided combat troops to support Syrian military operations.[70] It was alleged by the Western media that Iran also trained fighters from Hezbollah, a Shia militant group based in Lebanon.[71] Iraq, located between Syria and Iran, was criticized by the U.S. for allowing Iran to ship military supplies to Assad over Iraqi airspace.[72]

The Economist said that Iran had, by February 2012, sent the Syrian government $9 billion to help it withstand Western sanctions.[50] It has also shipped fuel to the country and sent two warships to a Syrian port in a display of power and support.[73]

In March 2012, anonymous U.S. intelligence officials claimed a spike in Iranian-supplied arms and other aid for the Syrian government. Iranian security officials also allegedly traveled to Damascus to help deliver this assistance. A second senior U.S. official said members of Iran's main intelligence service, the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, were assisting Syrian counterparts in charge of the crackdown.[74]

According to a U.N. panel in May 2012, Iran supplied the Syrian government with arms during the previous year despite a ban on weapons exports by the Islamic Republic. Turkish authorities captured crates and a truck in February 2012, including assault rifles, machine guns, explosives, detonators, 60mm and 120mm mortar shells as well as other items on its border. It was believed these were destined for the Syrian government. The confidential report leaked just hours after an article appeared in The Washington Post revealing how Syrian opposition fighters started to receive more, and better, weapons in an effort paid for by Persian Gulf Arab states and co-ordinated partly by the US.[75] The report investigated three large illegal shipments of Iranian weapons over the past year and stated "Iran has continued to defy the international community through illegal arms shipments. Two of these cases involved [Syria], as were the majority of cases inspected by the Panel during its previous mandate, underscoring that Syria continues to be the central party to illicit Iranian arms transfers."[76] More anonymous sources were cited by the UN in May 2012, as it claimed arms were moving both ways between Lebanon and Syria, and alleged weapons brought in from Lebanon were being used to arm the opposition.[77] The alleged spike in Iranian arms was likely a response to a looming influx of weapons and ammunition to the rebels from Gulf states that had been reported shortly before.[78]

On 24 July 2012, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp commander Massoud Jazayeri said Iranians would not allow enemy plans to change Syria's political system to succeed.[79]

In August 2012 Leon Panetta accused Iran of setting up a pro-Government militia to fight in Syria, and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Martin Dempsey compared it to the Mahdi Army of Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Panetta said that there was evidence that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were attempting to "train a militia within Syria to be able to fight on behalf of the regime".[80] 48 Iranians were captured by the FSA in Damascus, and U.S. officials said that the men who were captured were "active-duty Iranian Revolutionary Guard members".[81]

In September 2012, Western intelligence officials stated that Iran had sent 150 senior members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to preserve the Assad government, and had also sent hundreds of tons of military equipment (among them guns, rockets, and shells) to the Assad government via an air corridor that Syria and Iran jointly established. These officials believed that the intensification of Iranian support had led to increased effectiveness against the Free Syrian Army by the Assad government.[82]

According to rebel soldiers speaking in October 2012, Iranian Unmanned aerial vehicles had been used to guide Syrian military planes and gunners to bombard rebel positions. CNN reported that the UAV or drones—which the rebels refer to as "wizwayzi" were "easily visible from the ground and seen in video shot by rebel fighters".

Rebels have displayed captured aircraft they describe as Iranian-built drones — brightly colored, pilotless jets. They're accompanied by training manuals emblazoned with the image of Iran's revolutionary leader, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.[83]

2013 Edit

In January 2013, a prisoner swap took place between the Syrian Rebels and the Syrian Government authorities. According to reports, 48 Iranians were released by the Rebels in exchange for nearly 2,130 prisoners held by the Syrian Government. Rebels claimed the captives were linked to the IRGC.[84] US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland described the Iranians as "members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard," calling it "just another example of how Iran continues to provide guidance, expertise, personnel, technical capabilities to the Syrian regime."[85]

Iran decided in June 2013 to send 4,000 troops to aid the Syrian government forces, described as a "first contingent" by Robert Fisk of The Independent, who added that the move underscored a Sunni vs. Shiite alignment in the Middle East.[86] IRGC soldiers, along with fellow Shi'ite forces from Hezbollah and members of Iran's Basij militia participated in the capture of Qusair from rebel forces on 9 June 2013.[17][87] In 2014, Iran increased its deployment of IRGC in Syria.[44] Iran also proposed to open a new Syrian front against Israel in the Golan Heights, this coming a day after Egyptian President cut off diplomatic relations with Syria and demanded that Iran support for the pro Syrian-government Hezbollah end.[88] A Syrian official called the severing of relations by Morsi "irresponsible" and said it was part of a move by the U.S. and Israel to exacerbate divisions in the region.[89]

According to American officials questioned by journalist Dexter Filkins, officers from the Quds force have "coordinated attacks, trained militias, and set up an elaborate system to monitor rebel communications" in Syria from late 2012 to 2013. With help from the Hezbollah, and under the leadership of Quds Force general Qassem Soleimani, the al-Assad government won back strategic territory from rebels in 2013, in particular an important supply route during the Al-Qusayr offensive in April and May.[90]

In the fall of 2013 Iranian Brigadier General Mohammad Jamali-Paqaleh of the Revolutionary Guards was killed in Syria, while volunteering to defend a Shia shrine.[91] In February, General Hassan Shateri, also of the Revolutionary Guards, had been killed while travelling from Beirut to Damascus.[92]

2014 Edit

Iran has stepped up support on the ground for Syrian President Assad, providing hundreds more military specialists to gather intelligence and train troops. This further backing from Tehran, along with deliveries of munitions and equipment from Moscow, is helping to keep Assad in power.[44][53] This surge of support was in part a decision strongly promoted by Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Quds force, to exploit the outbreak of infighting between rebel fighters and the al-Qaeda inspired Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS).[44]

A former Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces commander said that "top Quds force commanders were tasked with advising and training Assad's military and his commanders", adding that "Revolutionary Guards directed the fighting on the instructions of the Quds Force commanders".[53] In addition there are thousands of Iranian paramilitary Basij volunteer fighters as well as Shi'ites from Iraq. Former Iranian officials and a Syrian opposition source also put the count of those auxiliary forces in the thousands.[44][53]

A Syrian opposition source said in recent months Iranian led forces had begun operating in coastal areas including Tartous and Latakia. They have local ID cards, wear Syrian military fatigues and work with the elite Syrian Air Force intelligence unit.[53]

2015 Edit

See also: Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War § Cooperation with Iran

The Wall Street Journal reported on 2 October 2015 that Iran's Revolutionary Guard (the IRGC) has had some 7,000 IRGC members and Iranian paramilitary volunteers operating in Syria and was planning to expand its presence in the country through local fighters and proxies. The Journal also reported that some experts estimate 20,000 Shiite foreign fighters are on the ground, backed by both Shiite Iran and Hezbollah.[93]

At least 121 IRGC troops, including several commanders, have been killed in the Syrian Civil War since it began.[94][95][96]

Key victories were achieved with substantial support provided by the Quds force, namely the al-Ghab plains battles, Aleppo offensives, Dara'aya offensives of 2015 and the al-Qusayr offensives which established government and Hezbollah control over the northern Qalamoun region and the border crossings from Lebanon to Syria. In June 2015, some reports suggested that the Iranian military were effectively in charge of the Syrian government troops on the battlefield.[97]

After the loss of Idlib province to a rebel offensive in the first half of 2015, the situation was judged to have become critical for Assad's survival. High level talks were held between Moscow and Tehran in the first half of 2015 and a political agreement was achieved.[98] On 24 July General Qasem Soleimani visited Moscow[99] to devise the details of the plan for coordinated military action in Syria.[98][100]

In mid-September 2015, the first reports of new detachments from the Iranian revolutionary guards arriving in Tartus and Latakia in west Syria were made. With much of the Syrian Arab Army and National Defence Forces units deployed to more volatile fronts, the Russian Marines and Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) have relieved their positions by installing military checkpoints inside the cities of Slunfeh (east Latakia Governorate), Masyaf (East Tartus Governorate) and Ras al-Bassit (Latakia coastal city).[101] There were also further reports of new Iranian contingents being deployed to Syria in early October 2015.[102]

On 1 October 2015, citing two Lebanese sources, Reuters reported[103] that hundreds of Iranian troops had arrived in Syria over the previous 10 days to join Syrian government forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies in a major ground offensive backed by Russian air strikes that started on 30 September 2015 and were welcomed as vital by Bashar Assad.[104]

On 8 October 2015, brigadier general Hossein Hamadani, the deputy to General Qasem Soleimani in Syria was killed.[105][106][107] On 12 October, two more senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hamid Mokhtarband and Farshad Hassounizadeh, were reported by Iranian media to have been killed in Syria.[108]

At the end of October 2015, Iran agreed to take part in the Syria peace talks in Vienna.[109] The talks for the first time brought Iran to the negotiating table with Saudi Arabia, which are said to be engaged in a proxy war in Syria.[110][111] The talks however were promptly followed by an exchange of sharp rebukes between Iran's and Saudi Arabia's top officials that cast doubt on Iran's future participation in those.[112][113]

2016 Edit

In November 2016, Iranian government announced the deaths of over a thousand of its military troops deployed to Syria, a rapid spike from the 400 deaths announced a few months earlier.[114]

2017 Edit

Further information: 2017 Deir ez-Zor missile strike

In June 2017, Iran attacked militants' targets in the Deir Ezzor area in eastern Syria with ballistic missiles fired from western Iran.[115] As a result of these attacks (in an operation which was named as the missile operation of "Laylat al-Qadr"),[116][117] more than 170 forces of ISIS among a number of its commanders were killed.[118][unreliable source?]

2018 Edit

Further information: February 2018 Israel–Syria incident and May 2018 Israel–Iran incidents

In May 2018, Iranian Quds forces based in Syria launched a 20 rockets attack on Israel. None of the rockets hit any targets and Israeli aircraft responded by extensively hitting both Syrian and Iranian military sites in Syria.[119]

2019 Edit

In January 2019, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it had carried out strikes against Iranian military targets in Syria several hours after a rocket was intercepted over the Golan Heights. The Israeli military claimed in a statement that Quds Force positions were targeted and included a warning to the Syrian military against "attempting to harm Israeli forces or territory."[120]

2020 Edit

Between 27 February and 3 March, 4 Iranians were killed by Turkish forces.[121] On 7 March, an IRGC commander, Farhad Dabirian, was reported to be killed a day earlier in the Sayyidah Zaynab neighborhood in Damascus, without giving details on the circumstances of his death.[122] On 18 March, an Iranian commander, Mehran Azizani, was announced to be killed by Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria.[123] On 15 May, Another commander, Abu al-Fadl Sarlak, was announced to be killed probably by an Israeli airstrike in Khanasir.[124]

2021 Edit

After a year of cease-fire deals and emergence of a frozen conflict, many high-ranking members of the Ba'athist leadership like Maher al-Assad and First Lady Asma al-Assad has been seeking the end of Iranian military presence and demanding the withdrawal of Shia militias. This was part of their reconciliation plan with the neighbouring Sunni Arab countries. Head of IRGC in Syria, Javad Ghaffari, was dismissed by Bashar al-Assad in November 2021 to curtail Iranian influence in regime-held territories; demonstrating growing resentment within government circles over continued Iranian presence.[125]

Public opinion Edit

The fierce insistence of Iran's ruling clerics to engage actively in the Syrian crisis is driven by a sectarian strategy which depicts the conflict as a "religious war".[126] The great differences between the Alawites and the Twelver Shiites have been apparently overlooked[by whom?]. Although the Assad government has enjoyed a political alliance with ruling clerics in Iran from the time of its establishment, this alliance is not driven by any common religious/sectarian causes; the Ba'ath government in Syria does not participate in Iranian religious issues, and the Ayatollahs in Iran do not consider Assad a Shiite partner.[127][verification needed]

In a March 2018 ORB International poll of 1,011 adults across all of Syria's 14 governorates, 64% of Syrians said that Iran's influence on their country was "negative only", while 32% replied Iran's influence was "positive only".[128] Various factions of the Assad regime and many Ba'ath party supporters also demand the withdrawal of Hezbollah and other Iran-backed Khomeinist militant groups from Syria.[129]

Casualties Edit

 
Iranian casualties bodies return to Kermanshah, August 2016

Despite Iran's costly presence in Syria, public support for military involvement in Syria remains strong among the Iranians because of religious motivations and security concerns.[130] From January 2013 to March 2017, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps lost 2,100 soldiers in Syria and 9,000 wounded, according to Iran's veterans' affairs office[citation needed]. These included 418 ranking officers and several generals. [131][132][dubious – discuss] In August 2017, Brigadier General Hamid Abazari stated that 25% of the soldiers that Iran had sent to Syria had been killed or wounded,[133][134] implying several tens of thousands had served. In March 2019, IRGC officer and strategist Hassan Abbasi stated that 2,300 Iranians "went to Syria where they were martyred in recent years."[39][dubious – discuss] Ali Alfoneh of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy sets the Iranian casualty rate at 559 [135] based on surveying funeral services in Iran. [136]


Thousands of Iranian-backed Afghan, Lebanese, Iraqi, Yemeni, Pakistani and other militia fighters have also been killed after joining IRGC-sponsored paramilitary organizations. The Afghans are recruited largely from Hazara refugees in Iran, and some had combat experience before joining; their relation to the Iranian military is only vaguely acknowledged and sometimes denied, despite the troops being uniformed fighters led by IRGC officers, trained and equipped in Iran, with state funerals involving uniformed IRGC personnel.[137] Among the dead are 2,000+ Afghans[40] and at least 160 Pakistanis.[138][139] Officially, the Afghan paramilitaries are part of the independent Liwa Fatemiyoun group, while the Pakistanis are part of the Liwa Zainebiyoun group. These militias have also incurred heavy losses, with Liwa Fatemiyoun alone reporting over 10,000 casualties (2,000+ killed, 8,000+ wounded) by January 2018.[40]

Despite Iran's costly presence in Syria and rising casualties, polls in 2017 showed that majority of Iranians were in favour of military involvement in Syria because of "religious motivations" and "security concerns".[140]

Notable officer deaths Edit

Iran Edit

Name Rank or affiliation Date Place
Qodratollah Mansouri[141] Brigadier general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 15 December 2018 Syria–Iraq border
Shahrokh Daipour[142] Brigadier general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 17 June 2018 Albu Kamal District, Syria
Mohsen Hojaji Third lieutenant, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 9 August 2017 Al Waleed border crossing, Syria
Ahmad Gholami[143] Brigadier general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 30 August 2016 Aleppo, Syria
Mohsen Ghitaslou First lieutenant, 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade 11 April 2016 Syria
Mohsen Qajarian[144] Brigadier general, 1st Reza Armored Brigade 3 February 2016 Abu Kamal District, Syria
Abdolreza Mojiri[145] Brigadier general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 29 November 2015 Aleppo, Syria
Reza Khavari[146] Brigadier general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 23 October 2015 Hama, Syria
Hossein Hamadani Major general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 7 October 2015 Aleppo, Syria
Abdul Karim Ghobash[147] Brigadier general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 18 January 2015 Al-Zabadani, Syria
Mohammad Ali Allahdadi Brigadier general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 18 January 2015 Quneitra province, Syria
Hamid Taqavi Brigadier general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 27 December 2014 Samara, Iraq
Jabbar Darisawi[148] Brigadier general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 14 October 2014 Damascus Governorate, Syria
Abdullah Eskandari[149] Brigadier general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps May 2014 Damascus Governorate, Syria
Mohammad Jamali-Paqaleh Brigadier general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps November 2013 Syria
Hassan Shateri Major general, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 12 February 2013 Syria
Farhad Dabirian Commander, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 6 March 2020 Syria [150]

Afghanistan Edit

Name Rank/Affiliation Date Place
Ali Reza Tavassoli Afghan Shia commander of Fatemiyoun Brigade 28 February 2015 Daraa

See also Edit

References Edit

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Further reading Edit

  • An analysis of Iranian Strategy in Syria, by Will Fulton, Joseph Holliday, and Sam Wyer, Institute for the Study of War

September 01, 2023
iranian, intervention, syrian, civil, islamic, republic, iran, syrian, arab, republic, close, strategic, allies, iran, provided, significant, support, syrian, government, syrian, civil, including, logistical, technical, financial, support, well, training, some. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic are close strategic allies and Iran has provided significant support for the Syrian government in the Syrian civil war including logistical technical and financial support as well as training and some combat troops Iran sees the survival of the Syrian government as being crucial to its regional interests 43 44 45 When the uprising developed into the Syrian Civil War there were increasing reports of Iranian military support and of Iranian training of the National Defence Forces both in Syria and Iran 46 From late 2011 47 and early 2012 Iran s IRGC began sending tens of thousands of Khomeinist militants in co ordination with Assad regime to prevent the collapse of the Syrian Arab Army thereby polarising the conflict along sectarian lines 48 49 Iranian intervention in the Syrian Civil WarPart of foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war and the Iran Saudi Arabia proxy conflictIranian and Hezbollah s marked in blue military presence and influence in Syria as of December 2020Date9 June 2013 17 present 10 years 2 months and 3 weeks LocationSyria and LebanonResultOngoing Government forces capture more than 705 settlements and over 17 000 sq km of territory 18 Major government gains in provinces of Latakia Palmyra Raqqa Damascus and Aleppo 19 BelligerentsIslamic Republic of Iran 1 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force 2 Basij 2 Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Islamic Republic of Iran Army Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces Islamic Republic of Iran Air ForceIran sponsored militias Hezbollah Huseynciler Liwa Fatemiyoun 1 Liwa Zainebiyoun Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba 3 In support of Syrian Arab Republic Syrian Armed ForcesSupported by Russia airstrikes 4 Syrian Interim Government Free Syrian Army Free Officers Movement Syrian National Army 2017 present Supported by Turkey 5 United States 2013 17 United Kingdom 2013 17 6 Syrian Islamic Front Ahrar al Sham Jaysh al Islam Jaysh al Sunna 2013 17 7 Supported by Qatar Saudi Arabia 2013 18 Syrian Salvation Government Tahrir al Sham Ajnad al Sham 2013 17 8 Other rebel groupsSupported by Qatar Al Qaeda 9 10 Al Nusra Front 2013 17 Ansar al Islam 7 Turkistan Islamic Party 11 12 Hurras al Din 2018 present 13 Islamic StateSyrian Democratic Forces YPG YPJ Other SDF groups and alliesSupported by CJTF OIR since 2014 United States 14 Canada United Kingdom France 15 Netherlands Iraqi Kurdistan 16 limited involvement Commanders and leadersAli Khamenei Supreme Leader of Iran Maj Gen Qasem Soleimani 20 21 Quds Force chief commander Brig Gen Dariush Dorosti 22 IRGC commander Maj Abolghassem Zahiri WIA 1 102nd Imam Hossein Battalion commander Ahmad Gholami Iranian paramilitary commander Salem al Meslet President Col Riad al Assad Founder of FSA Brig Gen Mustafa Al Sheikh Head of Higher Military Council Gen Salim Idris Former Chief of Staff of SMC Brig Gen Hassan Hamada Chief of Staff of SNA Zahran Alloush Chief of Islamic Front Hassan Aboud Abu Jaber Shaykh Hassan Soufan Abu Mohammad al Julani Emir of Tahrir al Sham Abu Jaber Shaykh Col Riad al Assad Deputy PM of Military Affairs Abu Khayr al Masri 23 al Qaeda deputy leader Abu Humam al Shami 24 Abu Hajer al Homsi al Nusra Front military chief 25 Khalid al Aruri Former leader of Hurras al Din 26 Abu Bakr al Baghdadi Zoran Birhat 27 YPJ senior commander Ciwan Ibrahim 28 Asayish head Strength2 000 soldiers according to the US denied by Iran 29 10 000 IRGC fighters 2015 30 2000 Quds Force officers 2021 31 5 000 Iranian army soldiers 2015 32 14 000 fighters 2017 33 10 000 fighters 2017 34 c 2 000 al Nujaba fighters 3 120 Naval Infantry advisors several BMPs 35 36 Casualties and losses10 400 killed SOHR claim 37 559 killed as per The Washington Institute for Near East Policy 38 2 300 killed Hassan Abbasi claim 39 Liwa Fatemiyoun 2 000 killed8 000 wounded 40 1 800 fighters killed 41 Iraqi Shia Militia 1 308 militiamen killed 42 UnknownUnknownUnknown Iranian security and intelligence services are advising and assisting the Syrian military in order to preserve Bashar al Assad s hold on power 43 Those efforts include training technical support and combat troops 43 50 Estimates of the number of Iranian personnel in Syria range from hundreds to tens of thousands 44 51 52 Lebanese Hezbollah fighters backed by Iran s government have taken direct combat roles since 2012 44 53 From the summer of 2013 Iran and Hezbollah provided important battlefield support for Assad allowing it to make advances on the opposition 53 In 2014 coinciding with the peace talks at Geneva II Iran stepped up support for Syrian President Assad 44 53 Estimates of financial assistance range from tens to hundreds of billions of dollars 54 55 56 57 58 Iranian regime has portrayed its intervention as part of a religious and historical revanchist mission to subordinate Sunnis and seek vengeance Tehran s objectives include attempts to Shi ification through forced conversions Shia missionary activities establishment of shrines and demographic transformations by bringing in foreign Twelver Shia settlers in regime controlled territories 59 60 Iranian troops and allied militias on the ground are supported by ballistic missile and air forces including armed drones utilizing smart munitions By October 2018 Iranian drones had launched over 700 strikes on Islamic State forces alone 61 At the height of its intervention in 2015 18 an estimated 10 000 IRGC forces and 5 000 Iranian Army members had been deployed to Syria As of 2018 2000 officers of the Quds Forces command an estimated 131 military garrisons and tens of thousands of Iran backed Shia jihadists across regime controlled regions 62 As of 2023 Iran maintains 55 military bases in Syria and 515 other military points the majority in Aleppo and Deir Ezzor governorates and the Damascus suburbs these are 70 of the foreign military sites in the country 63 Contents 1 Background 2 Timeline 2 1 2011 2 2 2012 2 3 2013 2 4 2014 2 5 2015 2 6 2016 2 7 2017 2 8 2018 2 9 2019 2 10 2020 2 11 2021 3 Public opinion 4 Casualties 4 1 Notable officer deaths 4 1 1 Iran 4 1 2 Afghanistan 5 See also 6 References 7 Further readingBackground EditSee also Iran Syria relations Iran sees the survival of the Syrian government as being crucial to its interest Its only consistent ally since the 1979 Islamic revolution Syria provides a crucial thoroughfare to Hezbollah in Lebanon IRGC have boasted Syria as being Iran s 35th province in addition to viewing Bashar al Assad s Alawite dominated Ba athist government as being a crucial buffer against the influence of Saudi Arabia and the United States 44 The Syrian city of Zabadani is vitally important to Assad and to Iran because at least as late as June 2011 the city served as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps s logistical hub for supplying Hezbollah 64 Prior to the Syrian war Iran had between 2 000 and 3 000 IRGC officers stationed in Syria helping to train local troops and managing supply routes of arms and money to neighboring Lebanon 44 In April 2014 Hossein Amir Abdollahian Iranian deputy foreign minister said We aren t seeking to have Bashar Assad remain president for life But we do not subscribe to the idea of using extremist forces and terrorism to topple Assad and the Syrian government 65 Using its increased leverage during the civil war Iranian government has been recruiting Alawites by setting up Khomeinist religious centres to convert them to Twelver Shi ism It has also been attempting demographic shifts by bringing in foreign Shia settlers and families of IRGC soldiers across Syria 66 Timeline Edit2011 Edit In the civil uprising phase of the Syrian civil war Iran was said to be providing Syria with technical support based on Iran s capabilities developed following the 2009 2010 Iranian election protests 45 In April 2011 U S President Barack Obama and U S Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice accused Iran of secretly aiding Assad in his efforts to quell the protests 67 and there were reports of Syrian protesters hearing security force members speaking Persian 68 The Guardian reported in May 2011 that the Iranian government was assisting the Syrian government with riot control equipment and intelligence monitoring techniques 69 According to US journalist Geneive Abdo writing in September 2011 the Iranian government provided the Syrian government with technology to monitor e mail cell phones and social media Iran developed these capabilities in the wake of the 2009 protests and spent millions of dollars establishing a cyber army to track down dissidents online Iran s monitoring technology is believed to be among the most sophisticated in the world perhaps only second to China 45 2012 Edit In May 2012 in an interview with the Iranian Students News Agency which was later removed from its website the deputy head of Iran s Quds Force said that it had provided combat troops to support Syrian military operations 70 It was alleged by the Western media that Iran also trained fighters from Hezbollah a Shia militant group based in Lebanon 71 Iraq located between Syria and Iran was criticized by the U S for allowing Iran to ship military supplies to Assad over Iraqi airspace 72 The Economist said that Iran had by February 2012 sent the Syrian government 9 billion to help it withstand Western sanctions 50 It has also shipped fuel to the country and sent two warships to a Syrian port in a display of power and support 73 In March 2012 anonymous U S intelligence officials claimed a spike in Iranian supplied arms and other aid for the Syrian government Iranian security officials also allegedly traveled to Damascus to help deliver this assistance A second senior U S official said members of Iran s main intelligence service the Ministry of Intelligence and Security were assisting Syrian counterparts in charge of the crackdown 74 According to a U N panel in May 2012 Iran supplied the Syrian government with arms during the previous year despite a ban on weapons exports by the Islamic Republic Turkish authorities captured crates and a truck in February 2012 including assault rifles machine guns explosives detonators 60mm and 120mm mortar shells as well as other items on its border It was believed these were destined for the Syrian government The confidential report leaked just hours after an article appeared in The Washington Post revealing how Syrian opposition fighters started to receive more and better weapons in an effort paid for by Persian Gulf Arab states and co ordinated partly by the US 75 The report investigated three large illegal shipments of Iranian weapons over the past year and stated Iran has continued to defy the international community through illegal arms shipments Two of these cases involved Syria as were the majority of cases inspected by the Panel during its previous mandate underscoring that Syria continues to be the central party to illicit Iranian arms transfers 76 More anonymous sources were cited by the UN in May 2012 as it claimed arms were moving both ways between Lebanon and Syria and alleged weapons brought in from Lebanon were being used to arm the opposition 77 The alleged spike in Iranian arms was likely a response to a looming influx of weapons and ammunition to the rebels from Gulf states that had been reported shortly before 78 On 24 July 2012 Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp commander Massoud Jazayeri said Iranians would not allow enemy plans to change Syria s political system to succeed 79 In August 2012 Leon Panetta accused Iran of setting up a pro Government militia to fight in Syria and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Martin Dempsey compared it to the Mahdi Army of Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada al Sadr Panetta said that there was evidence that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were attempting to train a militia within Syria to be able to fight on behalf of the regime 80 48 Iranians were captured by the FSA in Damascus and U S officials said that the men who were captured were active duty Iranian Revolutionary Guard members 81 In September 2012 Western intelligence officials stated that Iran had sent 150 senior members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to preserve the Assad government and had also sent hundreds of tons of military equipment among them guns rockets and shells to the Assad government via an air corridor that Syria and Iran jointly established These officials believed that the intensification of Iranian support had led to increased effectiveness against the Free Syrian Army by the Assad government 82 According to rebel soldiers speaking in October 2012 Iranian Unmanned aerial vehicles had been used to guide Syrian military planes and gunners to bombard rebel positions CNN reported that the UAV or drones which the rebels refer to as wizwayzi were easily visible from the ground and seen in video shot by rebel fighters Rebels have displayed captured aircraft they describe as Iranian built drones brightly colored pilotless jets They re accompanied by training manuals emblazoned with the image of Iran s revolutionary leader the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 83 2013 Edit In January 2013 a prisoner swap took place between the Syrian Rebels and the Syrian Government authorities According to reports 48 Iranians were released by the Rebels in exchange for nearly 2 130 prisoners held by the Syrian Government Rebels claimed the captives were linked to the IRGC 84 US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland described the Iranians as members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard calling it just another example of how Iran continues to provide guidance expertise personnel technical capabilities to the Syrian regime 85 Iran decided in June 2013 to send 4 000 troops to aid the Syrian government forces described as a first contingent by Robert Fisk of The Independent who added that the move underscored a Sunni vs Shiite alignment in the Middle East 86 IRGC soldiers along with fellow Shi ite forces from Hezbollah and members of Iran s Basij militia participated in the capture of Qusair from rebel forces on 9 June 2013 17 87 In 2014 Iran increased its deployment of IRGC in Syria 44 Iran also proposed to open a new Syrian front against Israel in the Golan Heights this coming a day after Egyptian President cut off diplomatic relations with Syria and demanded that Iran support for the pro Syrian government Hezbollah end 88 A Syrian official called the severing of relations by Morsi irresponsible and said it was part of a move by the U S and Israel to exacerbate divisions in the region 89 According to American officials questioned by journalist Dexter Filkins officers from the Quds force have coordinated attacks trained militias and set up an elaborate system to monitor rebel communications in Syria from late 2012 to 2013 With help from the Hezbollah and under the leadership of Quds Force general Qassem Soleimani the al Assad government won back strategic territory from rebels in 2013 in particular an important supply route during the Al Qusayr offensive in April and May 90 In the fall of 2013 Iranian Brigadier General Mohammad Jamali Paqaleh of the Revolutionary Guards was killed in Syria while volunteering to defend a Shia shrine 91 In February General Hassan Shateri also of the Revolutionary Guards had been killed while travelling from Beirut to Damascus 92 2014 Edit Iran has stepped up support on the ground for Syrian President Assad providing hundreds more military specialists to gather intelligence and train troops This further backing from Tehran along with deliveries of munitions and equipment from Moscow is helping to keep Assad in power 44 53 This surge of support was in part a decision strongly promoted by Qasem Soleimani the head of the Quds force to exploit the outbreak of infighting between rebel fighters and the al Qaeda inspired Islamic State of Iraq and Sham ISIS 44 A former Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces commander said that top Quds force commanders were tasked with advising and training Assad s military and his commanders adding that Revolutionary Guards directed the fighting on the instructions of the Quds Force commanders 53 In addition there are thousands of Iranian paramilitary Basij volunteer fighters as well as Shi ites from Iraq Former Iranian officials and a Syrian opposition source also put the count of those auxiliary forces in the thousands 44 53 A Syrian opposition source said in recent months Iranian led forces had begun operating in coastal areas including Tartous and Latakia They have local ID cards wear Syrian military fatigues and work with the elite Syrian Air Force intelligence unit 53 2015 Edit See also Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Cooperation with Iran The Wall Street Journal reported on 2 October 2015 that Iran s Revolutionary Guard the IRGC has had some 7 000 IRGC members and Iranian paramilitary volunteers operating in Syria and was planning to expand its presence in the country through local fighters and proxies The Journal also reported that some experts estimate 20 000 Shiite foreign fighters are on the ground backed by both Shiite Iran and Hezbollah 93 At least 121 IRGC troops including several commanders have been killed in the Syrian Civil War since it began 94 95 96 Key victories were achieved with substantial support provided by the Quds force namely the al Ghab plains battles Aleppo offensives Dara aya offensives of 2015 and the al Qusayr offensives which established government and Hezbollah control over the northern Qalamoun region and the border crossings from Lebanon to Syria In June 2015 some reports suggested that the Iranian military were effectively in charge of the Syrian government troops on the battlefield 97 After the loss of Idlib province to a rebel offensive in the first half of 2015 the situation was judged to have become critical for Assad s survival High level talks were held between Moscow and Tehran in the first half of 2015 and a political agreement was achieved 98 On 24 July General Qasem Soleimani visited Moscow 99 to devise the details of the plan for coordinated military action in Syria 98 100 In mid September 2015 the first reports of new detachments from the Iranian revolutionary guards arriving in Tartus and Latakia in west Syria were made With much of the Syrian Arab Army and National Defence Forces units deployed to more volatile fronts the Russian Marines and Iranian Revolutionary Guard IRG have relieved their positions by installing military checkpoints inside the cities of Slunfeh east Latakia Governorate Masyaf East Tartus Governorate and Ras al Bassit Latakia coastal city 101 There were also further reports of new Iranian contingents being deployed to Syria in early October 2015 102 On 1 October 2015 citing two Lebanese sources Reuters reported 103 that hundreds of Iranian troops had arrived in Syria over the previous 10 days to join Syrian government forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies in a major ground offensive backed by Russian air strikes that started on 30 September 2015 and were welcomed as vital by Bashar Assad 104 On 8 October 2015 brigadier general Hossein Hamadani the deputy to General Qasem Soleimani in Syria was killed 105 106 107 On 12 October two more senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Hamid Mokhtarband and Farshad Hassounizadeh were reported by Iranian media to have been killed in Syria 108 At the end of October 2015 Iran agreed to take part in the Syria peace talks in Vienna 109 The talks for the first time brought Iran to the negotiating table with Saudi Arabia which are said to be engaged in a proxy war in Syria 110 111 The talks however were promptly followed by an exchange of sharp rebukes between Iran s and Saudi Arabia s top officials that cast doubt on Iran s future participation in those 112 113 2016 Edit In November 2016 Iranian government announced the deaths of over a thousand of its military troops deployed to Syria a rapid spike from the 400 deaths announced a few months earlier 114 2017 Edit Further information 2017 Deir ez Zor missile strike In June 2017 Iran attacked militants targets in the Deir Ezzor area in eastern Syria with ballistic missiles fired from western Iran 115 As a result of these attacks in an operation which was named as the missile operation of Laylat al Qadr 116 117 more than 170 forces of ISIS among a number of its commanders were killed 118 unreliable source 2018 Edit Further information February 2018 Israel Syria incident and May 2018 Israel Iran incidents In May 2018 Iranian Quds forces based in Syria launched a 20 rockets attack on Israel None of the rockets hit any targets and Israeli aircraft responded by extensively hitting both Syrian and Iranian military sites in Syria 119 2019 Edit In January 2019 the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it had carried out strikes against Iranian military targets in Syria several hours after a rocket was intercepted over the Golan Heights The Israeli military claimed in a statement that Quds Force positions were targeted and included a warning to the Syrian military against attempting to harm Israeli forces or territory 120 2020 Edit Between 27 February and 3 March 4 Iranians were killed by Turkish forces 121 On 7 March an IRGC commander Farhad Dabirian was reported to be killed a day earlier in the Sayyidah Zaynab neighborhood in Damascus without giving details on the circumstances of his death 122 On 18 March an Iranian commander Mehran Azizani was announced to be killed by Jabhat al Nusra in Syria 123 On 15 May Another commander Abu al Fadl Sarlak was announced to be killed probably by an Israeli airstrike in Khanasir 124 2021 Edit After a year of cease fire deals and emergence of a frozen conflict many high ranking members of the Ba athist leadership like Maher al Assad and First Lady Asma al Assad has been seeking the end of Iranian military presence and demanding the withdrawal of Shia militias This was part of their reconciliation plan with the neighbouring Sunni Arab countries Head of IRGC in Syria Javad Ghaffari was dismissed by Bashar al Assad in November 2021 to curtail Iranian influence in regime held territories demonstrating growing resentment within government circles over continued Iranian presence 125 Public opinion EditThe fierce insistence of Iran s ruling clerics to engage actively in the Syrian crisis is driven by a sectarian strategy which depicts the conflict as a religious war 126 The great differences between the Alawites and the Twelver Shiites have been apparently overlooked by whom Although the Assad government has enjoyed a political alliance with ruling clerics in Iran from the time of its establishment this alliance is not driven by any common religious sectarian causes the Ba ath government in Syria does not participate in Iranian religious issues and the Ayatollahs in Iran do not consider Assad a Shiite partner 127 verification needed In a March 2018 ORB International poll of 1 011 adults across all of Syria s 14 governorates 64 of Syrians said that Iran s influence on their country was negative only while 32 replied Iran s influence was positive only 128 Various factions of the Assad regime and many Ba ath party supporters also demand the withdrawal of Hezbollah and other Iran backed Khomeinist militant groups from Syria 129 Casualties Edit nbsp Iranian casualties bodies return to Kermanshah August 2016Despite Iran s costly presence in Syria public support for military involvement in Syria remains strong among the Iranians because of religious motivations and security concerns 130 From January 2013 to March 2017 the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps lost 2 100 soldiers in Syria and 9 000 wounded according to Iran s veterans affairs office citation needed These included 418 ranking officers and several generals 131 132 dubious discuss In August 2017 Brigadier General Hamid Abazari stated that 25 of the soldiers that Iran had sent to Syria had been killed or wounded 133 134 implying several tens of thousands had served In March 2019 IRGC officer and strategist Hassan Abbasi stated that 2 300 Iranians went to Syria where they were martyred in recent years 39 dubious discuss Ali Alfoneh of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy sets the Iranian casualty rate at 559 135 based on surveying funeral services in Iran 136 Thousands of Iranian backed Afghan Lebanese Iraqi Yemeni Pakistani and other militia fighters have also been killed after joining IRGC sponsored paramilitary organizations The Afghans are recruited largely from Hazara refugees in Iran and some had combat experience before joining their relation to the Iranian military is only vaguely acknowledged and sometimes denied despite the troops being uniformed fighters led by IRGC officers trained and equipped in Iran with state funerals involving uniformed IRGC personnel 137 Among the dead are 2 000 Afghans 40 and at least 160 Pakistanis 138 139 Officially the Afghan paramilitaries are part of the independent Liwa Fatemiyoun group while the Pakistanis are part of the Liwa Zainebiyoun group These militias have also incurred heavy losses with Liwa Fatemiyoun alone reporting over 10 000 casualties 2 000 killed 8 000 wounded by January 2018 40 Despite Iran s costly presence in Syria and rising casualties polls in 2017 showed that majority of Iranians were in favour of military involvement in Syria because of religious motivations and security concerns 140 Notable officer deaths Edit Iran Edit Name Rank or affiliation Date PlaceQodratollah Mansouri 141 Brigadier general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 15 December 2018 Syria Iraq borderShahrokh Daipour 142 Brigadier general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 17 June 2018 Albu Kamal District SyriaMohsen Hojaji Third lieutenant Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 9 August 2017 Al Waleed border crossing SyriaAhmad Gholami 143 Brigadier general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 30 August 2016 Aleppo SyriaMohsen Ghitaslou First lieutenant 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade 11 April 2016 SyriaMohsen Qajarian 144 Brigadier general 1st Reza Armored Brigade 3 February 2016 Abu Kamal District SyriaAbdolreza Mojiri 145 Brigadier general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 29 November 2015 Aleppo SyriaReza Khavari 146 Brigadier general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 23 October 2015 Hama SyriaHossein Hamadani Major general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 7 October 2015 Aleppo SyriaAbdul Karim Ghobash 147 Brigadier general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 18 January 2015 Al Zabadani SyriaMohammad Ali Allahdadi Brigadier general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 18 January 2015 Quneitra province SyriaHamid Taqavi Brigadier general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 27 December 2014 Samara IraqJabbar Darisawi 148 Brigadier general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 14 October 2014 Damascus Governorate SyriaAbdullah Eskandari 149 Brigadier general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps May 2014 Damascus Governorate SyriaMohammad Jamali Paqaleh Brigadier general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps November 2013 SyriaHassan Shateri Major general Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 12 February 2013 SyriaFarhad Dabirian Commander Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 6 March 2020 Syria 150 Afghanistan Edit Name Rank Affiliation Date PlaceAli Reza Tavassoli Afghan Shia commander of Fatemiyoun Brigade 28 February 2015 DaraaSee also EditHezbollah involvement in the Syrian Civil War Iran and ISIL Iran Syria relations Russia Syria Iran Iraq Coalition Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil WarReferences Edit a b c Toumaj Amir 3 August 2016 Iranian military involvement in the battle for Aleppo The Long War Journal Archived from the original on 5 August 2016 Retrieved 14 March 2021 a b Four Iranian officers killed in Aleppo 3 August 2016 Archived from the original on 4 February 2017 Retrieved 3 August 2016 a b Fadel Leith 8 August 2016 Iraqi 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Retrieved 21 October 2017 via www WashingtonPost com Iran Guards General Dies of Self Inflicted Accidental Gunshot Report Archived 17 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine U S News amp World Report 16 December 2018 Accessed 16 March 2019 Iranian general killed in Syria Archived 27 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine Jordan Times Original AFP 24 June 2018 Accessed 16 March 2019 Iranian General Killed During Battle In Aleppo Archived 12 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine Iranian state media reports say a retired Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps IRGC general has been killed while battling against Islamic militants in northern Syria The Fars news agency which is closely affiliated with the IRGC reported on August 31 that General Ahmad Gholami was killed on August 30 while fighting against Sunni militants in Aleppo 31 August 2016 Accessed 16 March 2019 Iranian general killed in Syria Archived 12 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine Farsnews 4 February 2016 Accessed 16 March 2019 Excerpt Brigadier General Mohsen Qajarian the commander of Imam Reza Armored Brigade 1 from Neishabour Northeastern Iran was martyred in an attack by the ISIL Takfiri terrorists while on duty 3 Sunni Iranians 1 General Matyred in Syria Archived 13 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine Farsnws 29 November 2015 Accessed 16 March 2019 Two IRGC officers killed in Syria Archived 19 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine Farsnews 3 November 2015 Accessed 16 March 2019 Excerpt Brigadier General Reza Khavari the senior commander of IRGC s Fatemiyoun Division was martyred in clashes with Takfiri terrorists in the Northern parts of the province of Hama Central Syria while fulfilling his duty as a military adviser Iranian IRGC General AbdulKarim Ghobash killed by Rebels in the ongoing battle in Zabadani city Iranian top military commander killed in Syria Archived 11 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine Iran s state agency confirmed that a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander brigadier general Jabbar Darisawi has been killed in Syria IRNA reported on Oct 17 that the body of general Darisawi was buried in Ahvaz Province on Thursday but didn t mention when the top commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC was killed IRNA reported that the general was killed in an effort defending the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque Trend News Agency 17 October 2014 Accessed 16 March 2019 Axe David Iran Transformed Syria s Army into a Militia That Will Help Assad Survive Another Year Archived 16 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine Reuters 16 December 2014 Accessed 16 March 2019 Excerpt In May a rebel sniper killed Iranian General Abdullah Eskandari in battle near Damascus Opposition fighters seized Eskandari s notebook and published its contents online including a frank description of the Syrian army s dissipation and disintegration in Hama province in west central Syria It s safe to assume the army was in a similarly poor state in other provinces Iran Guard s Commander Dies In Syria In Possible Assassination Further reading EditAn analysis of Iranian Strategy in Syria by Will Fulton Joseph Holliday and Sam Wyer Institute for the Study of War Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Iranian intervention in the Syrian civil war amp oldid 1171480378, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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