Falcon29
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Has Syria been a military success for Iran? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
TEHRAN, Iran — Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, Iran's deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has made it known his country is ready to take on all comers and is stepping up its role in the Syrian war.
“We ourselves are dictating the new literature [and language] of Muslims’ struggle [against the West]. … Therefore, we should be ready to manage multiple direct, and proxy, wars,” Salami said at the National Civil Defense conference Oct. 28 in Tehran.
He also recently noted in a program broadcast by Iranian state television, “Our [IRGC] presence in Syria has increased in both quality and quantity.”
Through Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran is trying to reach a peaceful agreement with the world powers on Syria. However, it is simultaneously pursuing a strategy of engaging in direct military combat against its adversaries in Syria and Iraq. Despite widespread censorship, news about the deaths of IRGC members in Syria is reported extensively in Iran.
It is well known that IRGC members are present in Syria and have taken up an advisory role to President Bashar al-Assad's military. However, Iranian officials have repeatedly denied that Iran is sending military aid. Yet in a report aired by Iran’s Arabic-language Al-Alam news network, images of Iranian Safir military vehicles, anti-bunker cannons, multiple-launch rocket systems and Iranian-made armor could be seen briefly on the southern fronts of Aleppo.
In view of recent disclosures by Salami, it appears the Syrian army during the past few months has been relying on IRGC advisory assistance to fundamentally change its military strategy and combat organization.
Syria has a conventional army that relies on Soviet and Russian combat doctrines. In this regard, the roles and strength of artillery and armored units are quite apparent. However, since the armed opposition has been equipped with TOW anti-tank missiles, the weaknesses of the Syrian army have become more visible. Therefore, it appears that senior Syrian army commanders have decided to employ the Iranian combat doctrine.
The type of weapons and forces Iran is sending to Syria indicates that we are about to see a changed Syrian army. For instance, Iran has not sent its air force or missile and armored units to Syria. Instead, Iran has dispatched tactical weapons such as Safir vehicles, Zelzal tactical rockets and special brigades such as Fatemiyoun and Hezbollah of Lebanon. It appears that the approach favored by IRGC commanders has been more effective than that of its Syrian counterparts. These days, it is evident that Iranian forces, alongside Hezbollah, Fatemiyoun and the Syrian military, are taking part in large-scale offensive operations with the support of the Russian air force. The target is armed opposition in cities such as Aleppo, Homs, Damascus and Qalamoun. So what is Iran’s active strategy in Syria and what are that strategy's characteristics?
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It is well known that there are Afghan, Iraqi, Iranian and Lebanese forces present in Syria. However, Salami has made it clear that Iran has based Pakistani forces in Syria as well. The armed forces that fight against Assad’s army have one thing in common: Their members come from a variety of nationalities. Because of the fatwas issued by the Sunni ulama (religious authorities), Muslims from Indonesia to the United States have gone to Syria to take part in what is referred to as a holy war, or jihad. It appears that the Islamic Republic is now also operating based on a similar fatwa and is organizing Shiite forces from the region and sending them to Syria to take part in a jihad, too. Such a scenario, if public opinion accepts it, can make up for the lack of human resources in the Syrian army and also lend religious legitimacy to Assad’s side.
.............................
TEHRAN, Iran — Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, Iran's deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has made it known his country is ready to take on all comers and is stepping up its role in the Syrian war.
“We ourselves are dictating the new literature [and language] of Muslims’ struggle [against the West]. … Therefore, we should be ready to manage multiple direct, and proxy, wars,” Salami said at the National Civil Defense conference Oct. 28 in Tehran.
He also recently noted in a program broadcast by Iranian state television, “Our [IRGC] presence in Syria has increased in both quality and quantity.”
Through Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran is trying to reach a peaceful agreement with the world powers on Syria. However, it is simultaneously pursuing a strategy of engaging in direct military combat against its adversaries in Syria and Iraq. Despite widespread censorship, news about the deaths of IRGC members in Syria is reported extensively in Iran.
It is well known that IRGC members are present in Syria and have taken up an advisory role to President Bashar al-Assad's military. However, Iranian officials have repeatedly denied that Iran is sending military aid. Yet in a report aired by Iran’s Arabic-language Al-Alam news network, images of Iranian Safir military vehicles, anti-bunker cannons, multiple-launch rocket systems and Iranian-made armor could be seen briefly on the southern fronts of Aleppo.
In view of recent disclosures by Salami, it appears the Syrian army during the past few months has been relying on IRGC advisory assistance to fundamentally change its military strategy and combat organization.
Syria has a conventional army that relies on Soviet and Russian combat doctrines. In this regard, the roles and strength of artillery and armored units are quite apparent. However, since the armed opposition has been equipped with TOW anti-tank missiles, the weaknesses of the Syrian army have become more visible. Therefore, it appears that senior Syrian army commanders have decided to employ the Iranian combat doctrine.
The type of weapons and forces Iran is sending to Syria indicates that we are about to see a changed Syrian army. For instance, Iran has not sent its air force or missile and armored units to Syria. Instead, Iran has dispatched tactical weapons such as Safir vehicles, Zelzal tactical rockets and special brigades such as Fatemiyoun and Hezbollah of Lebanon. It appears that the approach favored by IRGC commanders has been more effective than that of its Syrian counterparts. These days, it is evident that Iranian forces, alongside Hezbollah, Fatemiyoun and the Syrian military, are taking part in large-scale offensive operations with the support of the Russian air force. The target is armed opposition in cities such as Aleppo, Homs, Damascus and Qalamoun. So what is Iran’s active strategy in Syria and what are that strategy's characteristics?
.........
It is well known that there are Afghan, Iraqi, Iranian and Lebanese forces present in Syria. However, Salami has made it clear that Iran has based Pakistani forces in Syria as well. The armed forces that fight against Assad’s army have one thing in common: Their members come from a variety of nationalities. Because of the fatwas issued by the Sunni ulama (religious authorities), Muslims from Indonesia to the United States have gone to Syria to take part in what is referred to as a holy war, or jihad. It appears that the Islamic Republic is now also operating based on a similar fatwa and is organizing Shiite forces from the region and sending them to Syria to take part in a jihad, too. Such a scenario, if public opinion accepts it, can make up for the lack of human resources in the Syrian army and also lend religious legitimacy to Assad’s side.
.............................
