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Top Iranian Official Acknowledges Syria Role
(Wall Street Journal) Farnaz Fassihi and Jay Solomon - Maj. Gen. Mohamad Ali Jafari, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on Sunday acknowledged at a news conference that members of its Quds Forces were in Syria to assist and train a 50,000-strong volunteer plainclothes militia called Jish Shaabi, or People's Army, modeled after the Basij, Iran's network of militias and paramilitary organizations. "It is an honor for the Islamic Republic of Iran to share its experience and provide any kind of consultation to help defend Syria," Jafari said. U.S. officials said Brig. Gen. Hossein Hamedani, an IRGC commander who led the crackdowns on Iranian protesters in 2009, has been dispatched to help keep the Assad regime in power.