Sources from Yemeni security told Al-Ain that Tehran has been forming a new Revolutionary Guard-style force with members from different Iranian proxies.
The group is reportedly to take the name of the former head of the IRGC Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by the US in January 2020 in response to an Iranian attack on the American embassy.
The sources estimated that 20% of Qassem Soleimani Forces' members are from the Houthis in Yemen, and other fighters were recruited from pro-Iranian factions and groups in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria. The new force allegedly seeks to centralize the Iranian proxies and work in all directions across the region.
Al-Ain reported that fighters in the new force "are receiving training in camps in Iraq and Iran" and that the force will become "a central military arm of the so-called Iranian 'Axis of Resistance,' in an attempt by Tehran to consolidate its presence and influence in the region, and to be able to withstand any further pressure." READ MORE