New camps and bases: The future of the Iranian forces in Syria

Ali Rajab

As the United States seeks to get Iran out of Syria, moves on the ground suggest that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are seeking further expansion and presence, and to adopt a plan to stay on Syrian territory until further notice.

Lajat base

Syrian opposition reports have revealed that Iran and its pro-Hezbollah militia have established a new military base in the Lajat area near the al-Suweida province, which witnessed an attack by the al-Qaeda organization in July.

The Lajat area is of tough rock nature, spanning an area of 24 square kilometers. It is located between the governorates of Daraa and al-Suweida, south of Syria, 50 kilometers south of Damascus.

According to the Orient website, the selection of Lajat area is the headquarters of the Iranian military base, because it is close to the operations of the Iranian forces and the Revolutionary Guards operations in the vicinity of al-Suweida and the Khalkhala military road in the north.

Al-Jalaa Camp

The Iranian pursuit did not stop the project of establishing a military base for the Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah in Lajat. The Revolutionary Guards recently established a training camp in the town of Al-Jalaa in the eastern suburb of Deir ez-Zor, according to the Furat Post network.

The network said that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards opened a camp in the town of Al-Jalaa, and opened the door to volunteering youth in its ranks with financial advantages far higher than the volunteers in the ranks of the Syrian army.

There are hundreds of elements of the Iranian, Afghan and Iraqi militias in the area of Al-Mayadeen and Bu Kamal. They are deployed at specific points in the two areas, close to the Iraqi border.

There are six camps set up by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria, including the Shibani camp northwest of the capital Damascus, a camp in the Nayrab area east of Idlib province, and a third camp in the Qusayr area south of Homs province; the fourth and fifth camps are located in Deir ez-Zor, Syria while the six camp is located in a city on the borders between Syria and Iraq. These are camps which have recently been established to secure the Iranian route between Iraq, Syria and Beirut.

Revolutionary Guards

On Sunday, the Revolutionary Guards insisted on maintaining its military presence in Syria, saying that the demands for the withdrawal of its forces and armed groups are not important. The Syrian government has the right to demand the end of the Iranian forces in Syria.

“Iran will maintain its military presence in Syria effectively and actively at the level of military advisers,” said spokesman of the Revolutionary Guards, Brigadier General Ramadan Sharif, adding that the Iranian presence would continue as long as the Syrian government requested it.

The spokesman of the Revolutionary Guard considered that the presence of Iranian forces is considered support of what he called “the axis of resistance” and a defeat for the Israeli conspiracy in Syria, according to the agency «Fars News».