The Anti-Semite And Satanic Iran Is Building A Permanent Military Base in Syria - claim Middle East Experts!

Iran building permanent military base in Syria - claim Middle East Experts!

Iran is establishing a permanent military base inside Syria, a Western intelligence source has told the BBC. The Iranian military is said to have established a compound at a site used by the Syrian army outside El-Kiswah, 14 km (8 miles) south of Damascus. The report comes amid growing tensions over Iranian influence in Syria and across the region.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu recently warned that Iran wanted to establish itself militarily in Syria. Israel will not let that happen," he said. Satellite images commissioned by the BBC seem to show construction activity at the site referenced by the intelligence source between January and October this year.

The images shows a series of two dozen large low-rise buildings - likely for housing soldiers and vehicles. In recent months, additional buildings have been added to the site. However, it is impossible to independently verify the purpose of the site and the presence of the Iranian military.

An official from another Western country told the BBC that ambitions for such a long-term presence in Syria would not be illogical for Iran. Its adversaries have accused Iran of seeking to establish not just an arc of influence but a logistical land supply line from Iran through to the Shia Hezbollah movement in Lebanon. 

With so-called Islamic State (IS) suffering major defeats on the battlefield and losing its last trongholds, attention is increasingly turning to what comes next and the new map of power and influence in Syria. Iran has been a consistent backer of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Photographs published on social media in the past few days also showed a senior Iranian general in Deir al-Zour shortly after IS was driven out of the town.

With a significant number of IRGC fighting - and in some cases dying - in Syria, there has already been a significant presence in the country but the question is now whether they are preparing to remain in the long term.

Iran building missile factories in Syria and Lebanon - Netanyahu

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Image copyrightIMAGESAT INTERNATIONAL NV/REUTERS

Image captionIsraeli analysts say a facility being built in Syria is similar to a missile factory near Tehran

Israel's prime minister has said Iran is building sites in Syria and Lebanon to produce precision-guided missiles.

Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of turning Syria into a "base of military entrenchment as part of its declared goal to eradicate Israel". Iran's forces are supporting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's war and it backs Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

Mr Netanyahu's comments came as he held talks with UN Secretary General António Guterres in Jerusalem. Mr Guterres is on his first visit to the region since taking office in January.

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Mr Netanyahu gave no details about the sites Iran was allegedly building to manufacture missiles, but he warned "this is something Israel cannot accept". Two weeks ago, the Israeli satellite imagery company ImageSat International published photographs it said appeared to confirm a report by a Syrian pro-opposition newspaper that a missile factory was under construction in north-western Syria under Iranian oversight. ImageSat International said the facility in Wadi Jahannam, near the Mediterranean coastal town of Baniyas, bore a close resemblance to a missile factory near Tehran. There was no comment from Iran, which calls for the Jewish state's eradication.

Image copyrightAFP

Image captionAntónio Guterres told Benjamin Netanyahu he understood Israel's security concerns

Mr Netanyahu also pressed Mr Guterres on the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, Unifil, which Israel alleges has failed to prevent Hezbollah building up its supply of weapons since they fought a war in 2006. Mr Guterres promised to "do everything in my capacity" to ensure Unifil fulfilled its obligations.

"I understand the security concerns of Israel and I repeat that the idea or the intention or the will to destroy the state of Israel is something totally unacceptable from my perspective," he added. Unifil's mandate is up for renewal at the end of the month.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin urged Mr Guterres to work to end what he called "the discrimination against Israel in some branches" of the UN. Mr Guterres said the UN would "always be very frank in the dialogue with the State of Israel", but also "very committed to make sure that anti-Semitism doesn't prevail and that equality in the treatment of all states is fully respected". Mr Guterres will meet Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in the West Bank on Tuesday, and will travel to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.