State sponsor of terrorism Iran has reportedly erected another permanent base in Syria capable of bombing Israel, considered Tehran’s public enemy number one, according to Fox News, citing Western intelligence sources and satellite images.
Last December, Israel reportedly destroyed a similar base, warning Tehran against building any military installations. Israel and Syria share a border.
Fox News reports:
Iran has built another permanent military base outside Syria’s capital city complete with hangers used to store missiles capable of hitting all of Israel, according to Western intelligence sources.
Exclusive satellite images from ImageSat International obtained by Fox News show what is believed to be the new Iranian base, eight miles northwest of Damascus, operated by the Quds Force—the special operations arm of Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The photos show two new white hangars, each roughly 30 yards by 20 yards, used to store short- and medium-range missiles.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has sanctioned the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
During an event sponsored by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) think tank, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged the Trump administration to “push back” against Iran-allied Shiite fighters destabilizing Iraq and Syria, namely the IRGC.
The congressman, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has introduced bipartisan legislation to impose sanctions on Iranian-backed Shiite militias in the Middle East.
Iran has deployed thousands of Shiite fighters, including members of the terrorist group Hezbollah, to fight on behalf of the Russian-backed dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Although U.S. Gen. Joseph Votel, the top American commander in the Middle East and Afghanistan, told lawmakers this week that Tehran “remains the major threat” to regional stability, he also said, “Countering Iran is not one of the coalition’s missions in Syria.”
The primary focus of the estimated 2,000 American troops in Syria remains the destruction of ISIS.
During the FDD event on Wednesday, Melissa Dalton of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) who recently traveled to Syria with Gen. Votel, said there are still “some hardened cells” associated with ISIS in Syria.
Gen. Votel told lawmakers the group has lost “more than 98 percent” of its so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
He noted that Iran is “increasing” the number and “quality” of the ballistic missiles it is deploying to Syria.
The nuclear agreement reached in July 2015 has allowed Iran to “enhance” funding to proxy forces in the Middle East, pointed out the top American general.
Support from Iran and Russia have allowed Assad to remain in power and continue waging war.
The United States military and its Kurdish allies have recently been forced to repel an attack from troops loyal to the Iranian and Russian-backed Assad regime.
According to the Pentagon, U.S. troops will not hesitate to respond to an attack from Iran-allied militias in Syria.
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