Iran builds military base in Syria, 30 miles from Israeli border
Iran builds military base in Syria, 30 miles from Israeli border
Iran’s military is establishing a permanent base inside Syria, just outside Damascus, BBC reported on Friday.
Citing a “Western intelligence source,” the report says that the Iranian military has taken over a compound at a site used by the Syrian army outside El-Kiswah, south of the Syrian capital and just a short 50 km from the border with Israel.
Satellite images of the purported site, commissioned by the BBC, appear to show construction activity at the site between January and October this year. The images show a series of two dozen large and low-rise buildings, likely for housing soldiers and vehicles.
The images do not reveal any signs of large or unconventional weaponry.
Independent analysis of the images says the facility is military in nature, but the BBC noted that it is impossible to independently verify the purpose of the site and the presence of the Iranian military.
Iran and its proxies have been supporting the Assad regime in the Syrian civil war and have deployed a force estimated at 500 Iranian army soldiers, 5,000 Hezbollah terrorists and several thousand guerrillas from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.
As ISIS moves out, Iran moves in,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted last Sunday, following up on previous warnings.
“Iran wants to establish itself militarily in Syria, right next to Israel. Israel will not let that happen,” he added.
In an interview with the BBC‘s Andrew Marr, Netanyahu said Iran wanted to bring its air force and submarines as well as its military divisions very close to Israel.
Asked whether Israel would use military force to stop such developments, Netanyahu told the BBC: “You know, the more we’re prepared to stop it, the less likely we’ll have to resort to much greater things. There is a principle I very much adhere to, which is to nip bad things in the bud.”
The Iranian army has incurred heavy casualties in Syria, and the question now is whether they are preparing to remain in the long term, after President Bashar al-Assad reasserts control.
The report comes amid growing tensions over Iran’s expansionism and influence in Syria and across the region.
Iran has been working to establish a logistical land supply line from Iran, through Syria and Iraq, to the Hezbollah terror group, its proxy in Lebanon. Israel fears that Iran will use its presence in Syria to establish another front against the Jewish state.
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