(Wall Street Journal) Julian E. Barnes - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime rejected Tehran's request to conduct or allow a raid to rescue Iranians captured by Syrian rebels, U.S. officials said. After Syrian rebels waylaid a bus carrying 48 Iranians, U.S. officials said at least some were operatives from the Revolutionary Guard Corps sent to Syria to train government forces and conduct missions to aid the Damascus regime. The Assad regime told Tehran that rescuing the Iranians isn't a top priority for Damascus. More broadly, U.S. officials see Iran expanding its support for Assad. Recently, Iran assumed control over Syria's efforts to disrupt rebel communications.
2012-08-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive