Report reveals Iran’s growing threat to US, Israel from Syria - analysis

Iran is supporting forces in Syria that are “preparing and gathering capabilities in order to be able to cause a threat to American forces in Syria and to Israel," an unnamed official told Newsweek’s Tom O’Connor according to a recent report. The revelation sheds light on an Iranian-backed division of fighters in Syria that have been a threat to the region for years.  

“Armed with precision-guided munitions and both attack and spy drones, along with a broad array of lighter weaponry, the division conducted an intensive barrage of drone and rocket attacks that hit the US military garrison in southeastern Al-Tanf in October 2021, according to the intelligence official,” the piece at Newsweek said on Friday. 

According to the report, this information is based on an “intelligence official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information.” Nevertheless, this information has been provided to US officials, the article says. It sheds light on what it calls the Imam Hossein Division, which is linked to the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

"The Division represents a multi-national combat force made up of thousands of fighters from around the Middle East… Today, the Division's structure maintains thousands of fighters in the Syrian arena. Most of the operatives are Syrian, although some are from Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Sudan, and other countries,” the report notes.  

The report doesn’t go into too many more details but says the group has “powerful and robust capabilities” and it mentions that the unit has fighters from a number of countries that Iran has drawn support from in the past, such as Lebanon, Yemen, and Shi’ites from Pakistan and Afghanistan. READ MORE