GLARING INTERVENTION: Report: Iran to send 4,000 Revolutionary Guards to bolster Assad’s forces - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards could be sent to Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad. (File photo: AFP)

Al Arabiya

Iran is to reportedly send 4,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad in the fight against opposition forces, according to the The Independent on Sunday.

In what was described as an Iranian “military decision,” the British newspaper said Iran was now “fully committed to preserving Assad’s regime,” citing unnamed pro-Iranian sources.

The sources “have been deeply involved in the Islamic Republic’s security, even to the extent of proposing to open up a new ‘Syrian’ front on the Golan Heights against Israel,” The Independent’s Robert Fisk wrote.

The decision, allegedly made before this week’s presidential election, was “to send a first contingent of 4,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad's forces against the largely Sunni rebellion,” Fisk reported.

FULL ARTICLE: Report: Iran to send 4,000 Revolutionary Guards to bolster Assad’s forces - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

MUST-READ: Iranian_Strategy_in_Syria.pdf

Inter Press Service News Agency

Iranian President Ahmadinejad, Syrian President Assad, and Hezbollah's Nasrallah appear together on a poster in Damascus, Syria.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has conducted an extensive, expensive, and integrated effort to keep President Bashar al-Assad in power as long as possible while setting conditions to retain its ability to use Syrian territory and assets to pursue its regional interests should Assad fall.

The Iranian security and intelligence services are advising and assisting the Syrian military in order to preserve Bashar al-Assad’s hold on power. These efforts have evolved into an expeditionary training mission using Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces, Quds Force, intelligence services, and law enforcement forces.  The deployment of IRGC Ground Forces to conflict abroad is a notable expansion of Iran’s willingness and ability to project military force beyond its borders.

Iran has been providing essential military supplies to Assad, primarily by air.  Opposition gains in Syria have interdicted many ground resupply routes between Baghdad and Damascus, and the relative paucity of Iranian port-visits in Syria suggests that Iran’s sea-lanes to Syria are more symbolic than practical. The air line of communication between Iran and Syria is thus a key vulnerability for Iranian strategy in Syria.  Iran would not be able to maintain its current level of support to Assad if this air route were interdicted through a no-fly zone or rebel capture of Syrian airfields...........

FULL 43-PAGE PDF LINK: Iranian_Strategy_in_Syria.pdf

DUH MOMENT AS NASRALLAH PROPAGANDIZES: Hezbollah admits its troops fighting in Syria | The Times of Israel

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. (photo credit: image capture from Channel 2/Al Manar)

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah admitted for the first time Saturday that his Shiite terrorist group had deployed fighters to Syria, saying his group would not stand idly by while its chief ally Syria is under attack.

In a televised speech commemorating Resistance and Liberation Day, which marks Israel’s 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah members are fighting in Syria against Islamic extremists who pose a danger to Lebanon.................

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Hezbollah admits its troops fighting in Syria | The Times of Israel

BBC News - Hezbollah 'perpetuating Assad's campaign of terror'

 

Hezbollah has denied sending any fighters into Syria

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said the militant Lebanese Shia Islamist group Hezbollah and Iran are helping perpetuate President Bashar al-Assad's "campaign of terror" in Syria.

Mr Kerry said thousands of Hezbollah fighters were contributing significantly to the violence.

He added that Iran was actively supporting Hezbollah's involvement.

FULL ARTICLE HERE: BBC News - Hezbollah 'perpetuating Assad's campaign of terror'

Friends of Syria demands withdrawal of Hezbollah, Iran fighters - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Diplomats pose after their Friends of Syria alliance meeting in Amman, May 22, 2013. (Reuters)

Nations gathering at the Friends of Syria meeting called for an immediate withdrawal of fighters belonging to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Iran from Syria, the bloc said in a statement after a conference in Amman.

The alliance described their armed presence in the country as a threat to regional stability, Reuters said.

The bloc also said any transitional government in Syria being proposed as a core of a U.S. and Russian peace initiative must have authority over the army and the executive, which are now in President Bashar Assad's hands.

The meeting of 11 Western and Arab nations, as well as Turkey, which constitute the core group of the alliance, also warned of “severe consequences” if use of chemical weapons by Assad's forces is confirmed........


FULL ARTICLE: Friends of Syria demands withdrawal of Hezbollah, Iran fighters - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Nasrallah ‘killer of Syrian people’ as tensions in Lebanon rise - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

The FSA says Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is "a killer of the Syrian people." (File photo: AFP)

The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) held Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah personally responsible for the situation in the Syrian border town of Qusayr, as sectarian tension was on the rise in neighboring Lebanon.

“We announced that Hassan Nasrallah will be held personally responsible for the current situation because he in person is meeting with all of [his fighters] before they head to Qusayr,” FSA spokesperson Louay Almokdad told Al Arabiya English. “We are today calling Nasrallah a killer of the Syrian people.”.......

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Nasrallah ‘killer of Syrian people’ as tensions in Lebanon rise - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Hezbollah to receive ‘game-changing weapons’ from Syria - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday that his Lebanese militant group is ready to receive “game-changing weapons” from Syria.

Nasrallah’s statements come after an Israeli strike on Damascus earlier this week, which allegedly was aimed at stopping a weapons supply from reaching Hezbollah.

“If the aim of your (Israel's) attack was to prevent the strengthening of the resistance’s capabilities, then Syria will give the resistance sophisticated weapons the like of which it hasn’t seen before,” he said........

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Hezbollah to receive ‘game-changing weapons’ from Syria - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

SERIOUS REPORT: Iran urges war on Israel’s northern front by Adam Kredo, Washington Free Beacon

Israeli soldiers in Golan Heights / AP

Iranian officials are believed to be encouraging the Syrian army, Palestinians, and its terror proxy Hezbollah to launch an attack on the Golan Heights, Israeli territory that borders war-torn Syria.

Iran responded to cables from the United States and Russia over the weekend by saying that Syrian forces aligned with President Bashar al-Assad have been instructed to immediately retaliate against Israel, according to Israeli news site Ynet, which translated a report first published in a Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese newspaper.

The instructions followed Israeli strikes on Syrian weapons facilities that contained Iranian-made weapons waiting to be shipped to Hezbollah forces in Lebanon..........

FULL REPORT HERE: Iran urges war on Israel’s northern front | Washington Free Beacon

Report: Syria Activates Palestinian Terror Against Israel

 
In a desperate attempt to direct Turkish, Egyptian, and broader Sunni ire against his regime into hatred for Israel, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has now said that he will give the go-ahead for Palestinian operations against Israel in the Golan Heights. Syrian television announced on Monday that Assad was “activating Palestinian groups to retaliate against Israel.”

Syrian state television said that the government wanted Palestinian groups to launch actions against Israeli targets, and both Lebanon and Syria were planning to have Hezbollah terrorist groups fight Israel.............
FULL ARTICLE: Report: Syria Activates Palestinian Terror Against Israel

'Strike in Syria sends a message to Iran,' says former intel chief | The Times of Israel

An IAF F-15 fighter jet during a training exercise (photo credit: Ofer Zidon/Flash90)

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Sunday morning’s strike inside Syrian territory, which reportedly targeted advanced Iranian missiles headed for Hezbollah, was primarily a message for Iran, former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said on Sunday.

“Iran is testing Israel’s and the US’s determination to uphold ‘red lines.’ And what it is seeing in Syria is that at least some of the actors take red lines seriously,” said Yadlin..............

FULL ARTICLE HERE: 'Strike in Syria sends a message to Iran,' says former intel chief | The Times of Israel

Israeli Air Force continues air strikes against Damascus

Damascus, the same facility which Israeli 
planes attacked in January.  

debkafile: The Israeli operation in Syria appears to be in its opening stages, after the first round failed to prevent the transfer of Iran-supplied Scud D and Fateh-110 missiles to Hizballah units fighting in Syria the next day, Saturday. Syrian state TV reported the attack on Jamraya. There was no comment from Israeli spokesmen.

Arab sources reported a series of explosions and fires north of Damascus early Sunday. They say Israeli rockets also hit two 4th Division Republican Guard battalions. The 4th Division is the main Syrian military unit buttressing the regime. It is commanded by President Bashar Assad’s brother, Gen. Maher Assad.........

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Israeli Air Force continues air strikes against Damascus

TAKING ON SHIITE AXIS: Syria says Damascus targeted by fresh Israeli strike | The Times of Israel

Syrian rebel video of what is apparently Israeli air bombardment of Assad regime strategic points.

State TV reports military site on outskirts of capital hit by Israeli rockets; IDF declines to comment; Israeli planes reportedly hit Iranian missile shipment in Damascus on Friday.

Syrian state television reported Israel struck an area near Damascus early Sunday morning, the second such strike reported in as many days.

The report, cited by Reuters, claimed Israeli rockets hit a military research site on the outskirts of the capital, and smoke could be seen rising from the area. The Jamarya site was the same one reportedly hit by Israeli planes in January............

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Syria says Damascus targeted by fresh Israeli strike | The Times of Israel

FSA accuses Hezbollah of using chemical weapons in Qusayr - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) has recently accused the militant group Hezbollah of using artillery shells containing fatal sulfur mustard gas when it attacked the flashpoint town of Qusayr.

FSA spokesman Louay Meqdad told Al Arabiya that “witnesses on the ground have reported that this gas has been used.”

Meqdad said that the FSA is still “investigating the reports” before it makes any official announcements.

However, the FSA spokesman said cases of suffocation have been reported, with several residents of Qusayr showing symptoms suggesting that mustard gas has been used...........

FULL ARTICLE HERE: FSA accuses Hezbollah of using chemical weapons in Qusayr - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

WELL, SOMEONE HAS GONADS REGARDING SYRIA: Israeli planes hit targets in Syria, say US officials | The Times of Israel

United States officials suspect Israel struck targets in Syria on either Thursday or Friday, CNN quoted two American sources saying Friday evening.

The sources said Western intelligence agencies were analyzing data pointing to an Israeli airstrike on Syria. The target of the reported airstrike was said to be a weapons facility, according to an American official cited by Fox News. There was no immediate indication that Israel struck chemical weapons targets, despite heightened tensions over the Assad regime’s use of weapons of mass destruction against rebels.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was quoted by a Politico reporter saying, “Israel bombed Syria tonight.”...........

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Israeli planes hit targets in Syria, say US officials | The Times of Israel

Hezballah loses two high officers in major defeat at al-Qusayr near Homs

Debkafile’s military sources report that Hizballah’s elite Al Qods Brigade suffered a grinding defeat – its gravest since first intervening in the Syrian civil war - and heavy losses in the battle for al Qusayr in the Homs sector of northern Syria Monday, April 29. Among the dead were two high-ranking officers, the Al Qods Brigade commander, known as “Abu Ajib” and his lieutenant Hamza Ramloush, as well as dozens of dead and wounded.

The joint Hizballah-Syrian force abruptly broke off its assault on this front under attack from a mixed rebel force of local militias reinforced by radical Sunni Salafists from Lebanon......

GOOD NEWS FOR SYRIAN REVOLUTION: Hizballah loses two high officers in major defeat at al-Qusayr near Homs

Hezbollah declares war on Syrian people, SNC chief says - Alarabiya.net English

George Sabra is elected as the interim chief of Syria’s main opposition group until elections for a new president. (AFP)

The Syrian National Coalition’s interim president said Monday the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has declared war on the Syrian people amid reports the movement is leading the fight against rebels in the central province of Homs.

“What is happening in Qusayr in Homs is Hezbollah declaring a war on the people of Syria,” George Sabra said in a press conference in Istanbul shortly after being named the new Syrian opposition interim chief.
“Hezbollah fighters have crossed the border into Syrian towns and cities.”

Sabra also said there are ongoing massacres in Syria, citing recent reports that at least 500 people have been killed in the past week by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“Some of them were killed [with] knives in very barbaric ways. We are afraid this kind of behavior will continue. It is a massacre. It is crime against humanity,” he said, adding: “We put this fact in front of the international community to do what [it] has to do.”.....................

FULL ARTICLE: Hezbollah declares war on Syrian people, SNC chief says - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

THE REAL TERRORISTS: Over 1000 Hezbollah fighters arrive in Syria to back Assad forces - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Hezbollah fighters march and while carrying their movement’s flag. (Courtesy of AP)

Over 1,000 members of the Lebanese Shitte militant group, Hezbollah, entered Syria in the past few days via waterways in the Mediterranean Sea, Saudi daily al-Watan reported on Sunday.

According to the report, around 1,200 fighters arrived to Syria's Tartus port in order to fight alongside regime troops.

The armed members who arrived from Lebanon to Syria committed "a hideous crime" in the town of Talkalkh, the daily said, adding that tens of thousands of fighters entered from Iraq to aid the Syrian regime.

FULL ARTICLE: Over 1000 Hezbollah fighters arrive in Syria to back Assad forces - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

FSA says Hezbollah has thousands of fighters in Syria - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

 More than 2,000 members of Hezbollah are fighting alongside regime forces in Damascus, the Syrian Free Army said. (AFP)

 

Hezbollah has deployed thousands of fighters in Damascus and in the Syrian border with Lebanon, Syrian Free Army spokesman told Al Arabiya on Wednesday.

Col. Abdul-Hamid Zakaria, spokesman for the FSA’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more than 2,000 members of Hezbollah are fighting alongside regime forces in Damascus and an estimated 3,500 others were deployed along the Syrian border with Lebanon.

On Tuesday, Al Arabiya television reported, quoting sources close to the Lebanese armed movement, that 12 members of Hezbollah have been killed in an ambush near Damascus......

FULL ARTICLE HERE: FSA says Hezbollah has thousands of fighters in Syria - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Ship carrying Iran weapons for Assad regime en route to Syria: opposition source - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

 

Vessel heading to Turkey is suspected to make a stop at Syrian port to unload Iranian weapons. (AFP)

Al Arabiya, Dubai -

A ship raising a Tanzanian flag and carrying Iranian arms cargo is expected to cross the Suez Canal within six hours, an opposition source told Al Arabiya Saturday.

‘The ship is said to be carrying 8,500 tons of weapons and ground missiles from Iran to be given to the Syrian regime,’ the source said, adding: ‘It is scheduled to make a 'fuel stop' at a Syrian port where it will unload its cargo.’..............

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Ship carrying Iran weapons for Assad regime en route to Syria: opposition source - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Iran and Hezbollah 'have built 50,000-strong force to help Syrian regime' | World news | guardian.co.uk

 Syrian rebels taking on the Assad-Iran-Hezbollah-Moscow Alliance

Iran and Hezbollah have built a 50,000-strong parallel force in Syria to help prolong the life of the Assad regime and to maintain their influence after his fall, Israel's military intelligence chief has claimed.

Major General Aviv Kochavi said Iran intended to double the size of this Syrian "people's army", which he claimed was being trained by Hezbollah fighters and funded by Tehran, to bolster a depleted and demoralised Syrian army.

Kochavi, the director of military intelligence in the Israel defence forces (IDF), also said Assad's troops had readied chemical weapons but so far had not been given the order for them to be used.....

FULL ARTICLE: Iran and Hezbollah 'have built 50,000-strong force to help Syrian regime' | World news | guardian.co.uk