Iran: Iran deploys army in Syria to bolster support for Syrian president
Iran has deployed the regular army in its first overseas operation since the 1979 Revolution to bolster Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad amid fears in Tehran that Russia may agree to his removal.
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have maintained a discreet presence in Syria since the civil war began five years ago. But reports of the deaths of Iranian commandos in Syria has shed light over a shift in the Islamic Republic’s policy.
Tehran has kept its army at home for decades and tried to keep conflict at bay through a strategy — manned and managed by the Guards — of fighting its regional rivals through proxies in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Syria is crucial to its success. It is on the ‘frontline’ with Israel and is an important bridge to Hizbollah, Iran’s Shia proxy force in Lebanon.