(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Jacques Neriah - On May 26, 2013, the Iranian regime officially began to recruit Basiji fighters to fight with Assad's troops in Syria. The Basij are the popular militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and serve as a reserve formation. They were used extensively for putting down anti-regime protests in Iranian cities during mid-2009. The name of the operation for which these troops are being recruited is "Defenders of the Holy Site 2," referring to the Shiite Zeynab Sanctuary on the periphery of Damascus, named for the eldest daughter of Ali, the first Shiite Imam. Her sanctuary is the object of pilgrimage for hundreds of thousands of Shiites from throughout the world. The deployment of these Basij forces in Syria would provide greater flexibility for Assad's army. For example, the Syrians could withdraw their front-line forces from the Golan Heights and replace them with Iranians, a regional "game-changer" that could place Iranian forces directly across from the Israel Defense Forces.
2013-05-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive