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Source: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.826114
Iran Works to Create Facts on the Ground in Syria
(Ha'aretz) Amos Harel - Israeli intelligence officials say there are currently several hundred Iranian combatants in Syria. These belong to the Revolutionary Guards, some serving as advisers and others as commanders guiding Syrian and Shi'ite militia. There are several thousand militia fighters in Syria from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan that are paid by Tehran, alongside 7,000 Hizbullah fighters. Hizbullah combatants, the militias, and a few Iranian advisers are on the front line with rebels in the south of Syria, but so far they have not been seen close to the border with Israel in the Golan. According to Israel's analysis, Tehran wishes to establish an advance outpost in Syria, as it did previously with Hizbullah in Lebanon. Israel's moves are meant to deny an Iranian presence in southern Syria and to reduce the chances for its establishing bases and a port in northern Syria.