Frédéric Pons
Valeurs Actuelles Weekly, France, 31 Oct, 2012 – The main issue in the Syrian crisis is Iran’s future. The Assad regime’s downfall means Iran’s strategic weakening. Therefore, the Iranians are directly involved.
Bashar Assad has faced difficulty in gaining complete control over its resisting armed opposition, especially in the country’s northern regions, bordered with Turkey. To carry out this task as soon as possible, he has asked for the help of his allies, the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who will suffer a great loss in the scenario of Assad’s downfall and the establishment of a Sunni government backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

To this end, the Shiite front, the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran, have risen in support of Assad. They are directly engaged in the suppression, as it was shown in the arrest of Iranian officers by the opposition in August, and the death of Hezbollah militants in battles in Syria. The direct intervention of Iran, through information revealed by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), the main opposition organization in Iran, which the US recently delist from its list of terrorist organizations, has been proven.
The PMOI have identified Tehran’s dispatched units along with the names of the Revolutionary Guards officers. Interrogations carried out by the Free Syrian Army, confirm this information. The Valeurs actuelles weekly has obtained a summary of the information gathered by the PMOI, the summary of which is as follows:
“According to information confirmed by dozens of Iranian Resistance sources, senior officers and elite units of the Revolutionary Guards are currently missioned in Syria:
The independent 48th Fath Brigade (currently has 35 senior officers in Syria); the independent 21st Brigade based in Neichabour, in the central province of Khorassan; the independent 18th Al-Ghadir Brigade (based in Yazd); the independent 33rd Djahrom Brigade; the independent 44th Ghamar Bani Hashem Brigade; the independent 57th Khorramabad Brigade; the western Azerbaijan Revolutionary Guards.
Following orders issued by the pasdaran (Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp) higher command, the transfer of many senior IRGC officers to Syria from all provinces, including Tehran, was initiated. They were instructed to identify themselves as Iranian pilgrims. They were even taught the routes and routines of pilgrimage and were dispatched without any arms, and were later armed on the scene.

July 2012 – The beginning of Iran’s intervention
It was in July 2012, after a number of successful operations by the opposition and the UN delegation’s failed mission that the mullahs’ regime decided to launch a massive military intervention in Syria. The Syrian crisis control staff in the Quds Force, led by General Qassem Soleimani (Commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force), with the presence of Brigadier Haj Haidar, decided to dispatch more forces to Damascus and raise the number of Quds Force officers on the ground. The IRGC commanding staff ordered 31 ground corps to send their operation commanders to Syria. It was emphasized that they would receive significant salaries for this mission. Trustworthy officers were given the priority, those who had previously commanded a battalion or operations in the Iran-Iraq war and had adequate experience. After being recruited, the officers were to keep their mission completely top-secret. Their objective was to identify the ground and determine the positions. They were also briefed on the operational orders that were given to units entering into Syria. These officers then returned to Iran to take part in the planning of dispatching units of IRGC officers to Syria. In these reconnaissance units, there were 5 officers from the Fath Brigade, based in Kohkilouye, which had carried out the most operations during the Iran-Iraq war.

Tehran-Damascus flights in July and August
It was then that units of officers were dispatched to Syria in the months of July and August in flight number 624 from Tehran to Damascus and 625 back to Tehran. From the time this flight was exposed, it was delayed until Wednesday. Before the Syrian uprising, 80 to 90 flights were conducted between Damascus and Tehran every week carrying pilgrims, merchants and military personnel. Now, there are only four flights belonging to Mahan Air. Other flights are sometimes used for transferring IRGC personnel. The Iranian regime is also attempting to send its elements from the city of Najaf in Iraq… while another path to transfer IRGC members is through Lebanon.
On August 4th, 150 IRGC members were dispatched to Damascus. The next day IRGC command called 102 of them back to Tehran and they never returned to their own corps. One week later they were once again dispatched to Damascus to carry out their mission.

48 Iranian IRGC members arrested
The PMOI announced 48 Iranians, arrested on August 4th on the Damascus Airport road by the FSA, were all IRGC Ground Forces officers. 14 of them were senior IRGC officers of West Azerbaijan Province based in the city of Urumieh including Abedin Khorram, IRGC commander in this province; Colonel Yousef Akbari, deputy commander in intelligence; Colonel Hossein Nouri, commander of artillery units; Colonel Gholam Reza Kobarii, senior IRGC officer; mullah Karim Hossein Khani, commander of Bassij paramilitary forces and former head of Khamenei’s representing office in the province IRGC… The commander of the unit these apprehended officers belong to is Brigadier General Haj Heidar, currently in Tehran.

The role of Quds Force 7000 Corps
The Quds Force is the IRGC’s extra-territorial wing and the Quds Force 7000 Corps plays a special role in the current phase. This unit is known as the Lebanon Corps responsible for activities and operations in Syria and Lebanon. Prior to the Syrian crisis, the headquarters of this unit was based in Beirut. However, from the beginning of the crisis, this headquarters has been allocated completely to supporting IRGC intervention in Syria. Iranian officers dispatched to Syria are working under the supervision of the Lebanon Corps. The power of the 7000 Corps and the emphasis the regime has on its role in the events in Syria can be seen in the importance of its command. The commander of the 7000 Corps is Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi. He is the commander of Fort Tharallah and responsible for the protection of Tehran against popular uprisings. Zahedi has vast experience in various fields: field war, suppression of popular uprisings and commanding terrorist operations. Therefore, he is considered the proper man for the current situation in Syria. His name is in the list of UN Security Council Resolution 1747 sanctions. In addition to Mohammad Reza Zahedi who supervises over the command of the 7000 Corps and all other IRGC operations in Syria and Lebanon, Iranian Resistance sources have identified the following officers in the 7000 Corps hierarchy: Ahmad Mohtamadi, Mohammad Rashidi (his commuting to and from Lebanon are conducted in secrecy), Sadegh Omidzadeh and mullah Aref Ali, Khamenei’s representative in Lebanon.

Secret plan to save Bashar
Iranian officers are supporting and training Syrian forces and at least hundreds of such officers are involved in such activities in Damascus. To increase the effect of repressive measures, the Quds Force and Hezbollah have established a Bassij-life force organized for various missions, including gathering information, and plainclothes or military operations. In the IRGC plan it has been stressed that military forces must be of the locals. According to information obtained from inside the mullahs’ regime, the assessment and analysis of the Quds Force and its commander Ghassem Suleimani of the situation in Syria is that the flow of arms – especially heavy weaponry – to dissident destinations must be stopped to allow the Assad regime to crackdown on the rebels and remain in power. Freed of border concerns, Assad’s forces will be able to focus more on the repression of urban areas. The Quds Force has implemented numerous plans, placing the responsibility to control the Lebanon-Syria border to Lebanese Hezbollah, the Iraq-Syria border to Iraq’s Badr Corps, and dividing operations between Iraqi groups, Hezbollah and the IRGC.
In the strategic framework of maintaining Assad in power, and to prevent the further siege of its rule, General Ghassem Suleimani has presented the plan to export terrorism and create instability in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. He explains this plan in private as: “Instead of these countries creating crises for Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, it will be us who will export crises to them.”
Based on this plan if the Free Syrian Army advances against Assad, the IRGC intends to prepare and direct an attack against Turkey. IRGC commanders have begun preparations for this scheme. Another part of this plot is to create turmoil in Saudi Arabia. A number of Al-Qaeda members opposing the Saudi government are currently imprisoned in Iraq. Under the framework of agreements made with the Iraqi government, these prisoners are to be released and enter Saudi Arabia to carry out the attack.