New York Times Report on Iran's Expanding Bases in Syria

In recent days, as the crisis between Israel and Iran has intensified in the Middle East, with Israel's Prime Minister openly threatening possible direct action against Iran and several senior Iranian officials speaking of the "destruction of Israel" and the "eradication of Tel Aviv," the New York Times has conducted a detailed investigation into the "dimensions of Iran's military presence and that of its allies in Syria" and has outlined the bases of Iran and its deep sphere of influence in Syria. On Monday, February 19, based on reports from three of its reporters named Ben Hubbard, Isabel Kershner, and Anne Bernard, the New York Times wrote that Iran is strengthening its ties with local forces in Syria; training local militias and supplying them with weapons to bolster the "resistance axis," which is a front against Israel. While Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, stated on Sunday, February 18, at the Munich Security Conference, showing a map that "Iran is trying to dominate Syria" and "is transferring an army to Israel's backyard," the New York Times also wrote that Iran's actions are effectively "redrawing the map of the region." The map presented by the New York Times regarding Iranian bases in Syria, including command, logistics, and operational centers for drone launches and military training facilities, shows the highest concentration of Iran-aligned forces near the Syrian border with Israel. However, the newspaper emphasized that this map does not yet include temporary bases that Iran establishes and dismantles along these contact lines. The newspaper claims that the 39 red points marked on the map of Syria are centers where Iran and its allies are stationed and conducting military and paramilitary activities. According to the New York Times, alongside training tens of thousands of local forces for activities that Iran envisions, the country provides new technologies, such as drones, surveillance equipment, and even equipment for airstrikes to these forces and is also preparing the infrastructure for underground weapons storage facilities. The New York Times reported that Israeli and other foreign agents believe that a serious confrontation between Israel and Iran, or one of Iran's allies in the region, such as Syria and Lebanon, could extend the scope of military operations to a wide array of militias that Iran has prepared for such a day; Iran has long referred to this axis, which it has established in several countries, as the "resistance axis." Mr. Kamal Wazneh, founder of the American Strategic Studies Institute in Beirut and an expert on Iran and the U.S., told the New York Times that if a new war occurs, it will be a regional battle; meaning "the entire 'resistance axis' will engage against Israel and its supporting countries." Israeli agents say that Iran and its allies have created a land corridor from Iran to the Mediterranean Sea through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to facilitate the transfer of forces and weapons and to establish underground arms manufacturing workshops in Syria and Lebanon. The New York Times noted that Iranian leaders do not hide their activities in establishing a front against Israel and the U.S.; the key to Iran's strategy, according to experts interviewed by the newspaper, is not to rely on conventional weapons or to be content with territorial dominance, as Israel can easily destroy both, but rather to create alliances with local forces is the cornerstone of Iran's strategy; those local forces that share common goals with Iran and benefit from Iran's financial and military support to achieve these mutual objectives. The New York Times investigation emphasized that Iran has succeeded in deepening its power in the Arab world through these methods and, with this strategy, has reduced the magnitude of threats against Iranian forces and territory; senior Iranian military commanders have consistently highlighted this strategy as a major success. According to the New York Times, Israel, the U.S., and Saudi Arabia are aware of Iran's influence in the region but do not know how to neutralize it. After Israel reported on Saturday, February 10, the infiltration of an "Iranian drone" into its airspace, followed by two waves of extensive airstrikes on "Iranian and Syrian targets" in Syrian territory and the downing of one of its fighter jets, despite rescuing its two pilots, Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on international affairs, stated that Iran's military presence in Syria will continue based on an agreement with this Arab country. So far, no Iranian or Syrian official has mentioned the number of Iranian forces and their allies in Syria; some Israeli officials have cited figures such as eighty thousand. Just two months ago, a commander of the Fatemiyoun Brigade confirmed that not only have two thousand Shiite Afghans recruited in Iran been killed in Syria, but eight thousand others have also been injured on the Syrian fronts, indicating the large scale of the presence of Iran-aligned forces in Syria. Hezbollah has also sent thousands of its fighters to that country since the second year of the Syrian war and has trained thousands more over the years of this prolonged conflict. However, the New York Times in its investigation wrote that twenty thousand fighters, "instructors" and "advisors" from Iran are stationed in Syria, to which can be added the Shiite militias brought from Iraq, Hezbollah from Lebanon, and other Shiites recruited from Afghan residents in Iran and from Pakistan. Ali Alfoneh, an Iranian-American expert at the Atlantic Council, whom the New York Times interviewed, stated that Iran directs its main military activities in Syria from three bases that oversee operations in vast areas of Syria; one in Aleppo in northern Syria and two other bases in the southern outskirts of Damascus. However, he noted that seven other smaller bases are in service for Iran along the contact lines where Iranians and their proxy forces are also present. Colonel Tomer Bar, head of the Israeli Air Force staff, told the New York Times that his country is still examining the purpose for which Iran sent the drone into Israeli airspace; whether the drone was armed or had a reconnaissance objective or whether Iran merely wanted to test Israel's alertness and readiness level. The New York Times wrote that Iran's movements in the region have also raised a red flag for Washington; General Herbert McMaster, U.S. National Security Advisor, said at the Munich Security Conference this week that what is most concerning is the increased readiness of the forces that Iran has prepared and the more destructive weapons that are being supplied to these networks; and now is the time to act against Iran. The Israeli Prime Minister, one day after General McMaster's speech, spoke on the last day of the Munich Security Conference, holding up a wing of a drone that he called the wing of the "Iranian drone" that infiltrated Israeli airspace, threatening Iran with direct military action within Iran in a manner that has not been openly seen before. In Iran, five days after Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, deemed the "destruction" of Israel as "inevitable," on Monday, February 19, two senior Iranian military officials made new statements against Israel and its main supporter, the U.S. Hossein Salami, deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said on Monday that "the drone shot down in Israel will not be the last drone of the resistance front" and "those who cannot hit a missile, what will they do if a hundred missiles fall on them?" Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, who is still one of the senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said on Monday, "We wish for Israel to be toppled" and "Netanyahu, if he makes the slightest foolish move against Iran, we will raze Tel Aviv to the ground and will not give him a chance to escape." Mohsen Rezaei's remarks were significant enough to be immediately cited by CNN and discussed by the network's experts as a sign of escalating tensions in the region. The U.S., U.K., Germany, and also the U.N. Secretary-General have recently expressed concern, albeit in slightly different tones, about the escalating rhetoric and retaliatory actions between Iran and Israel in the region. The U.N. Secretary-General clearly expressed this concern on Monday, stating that Israel's and Hezbollah's actions have the potential to turn into a devastating war, which is already clear that it would be a "nightmare." Meanwhile, Russia's position, which has good relations with Israel, Iran, and Syria, is noteworthy; Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, on Monday at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart in Moscow, deemed the calls for the "destruction of Israel" from Qassem Soleimani as "unacceptable" and at the same time rejected confrontation with Iran, but on the other hand, Russia has remained silent regarding Israel's heavy attacks on Syria; Israeli officials have emphasized in recent days that "full coordination" with Russia regarding "defending Israel's interests in Syria" continues.