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U.S.: Iran Is Stepping Up Lethal Aid to Syria
(Washington Post) Joby Warrick and Liz Sly - U.S. officials say they see Iran's hand in the increasingly brutal crackdown on opposition strongholds in Syria, including evidence of Iranian military and intelligence support for government troops accused of mass executions and other atrocities in the past week. "The aid from Iran is increasing, and is increasingly focused on lethal assistance," said one official. The flow of military aid to Assad comes as Arab states are considering arming the regime's opponents. One official said intelligence agencies have documented reports of a wide range of assistance. "They've supplied equipment, weapons and technical assistance - even monitoring tools - to help suppress unrest....Iranian security officials also traveled to Damascus to help deliver this assistance." A second senior U.S. official said members of Iran's main intelligence service, the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, are assisting Syrian counterparts in charge of the crackdown. Iran's intelligence service played a key role in Tehran's crackdown on the country's Green Movement in 2009. It now is believed to be "exporting its vicious practices to support the Syrian regime's abhorrent crackdown on its own population," said David S. Cohen, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.