Tehran needs Damascus as both a conduit to and sponsor of Hezbollah, Iran’s vanguard force in the region. Today, Iran’s military and an array of regional militias under its command operate with wide latitude in the war against rebels and Islamic State militants in both Syria and Iraq. Syrian rebels say the Revolutionary Guard has directed several major battles on behalf of Assad’s forces and has bases from the south of the country to the north. Syrian rebels say they are battling not just Syrian government soldiers, but Lebanese, Iraqi, and Afghani fighters, too. It says Iranian media memorialized child soldiers and hailed Iranian fighters as young as 13 in the Syria battle.

Source: Egypt Independent January 05, 2018 09:44 UTC