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Iran vows ‘crushing response’ to Israel as air strikes kill militiamen

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 10:01:16 +0000

14 pro-Iranian militia fighters killed by alleged Israeli strikes in Syria, with two bases destroyed.

Pro-Iran militias had been supporting Syrian government forces at the Albu Kamal border area near Iraq (AFP).

Iran has vowed to respond to Israeli “hit and run” airstrikes after 14 pro-Iran militia fighters were killed in Syria.

Fighters from Iran and Afghanistan were hit by more than 10 strikes on Saturday night in Deir Ezzor province, on the border with Iraq, according to war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The attack killed eight Iraqis and six Afghan fighters and destroyed two bases as well as several military vehicles, it said.

In a press conference on Sunday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khateebzadeh did not confirm the deaths but said Iran would respond to Israeli strikes.

“The Zionist regime [Israel] is well aware that the era of hit and run is over and therefore they are very cautious,” he said. “Iran’s presence in Syria is advisory, and naturally, if anyone disrupts this advisory presence, our response will be a crushing one.”

Iran-backed fighters are heavily deployed in a stretch of territory between the Syrian towns of Albu Kamal and Mayadeen, both former strongholds of the Islamic State group.

Along with Russia, Iran has been a key backer of the Damascus regime in its nine-year-long civil war.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air and missile strikes on Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011, targeting Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces as well as government troops.

The Israeli army rarely acknowledges individual strikes but on 18 November confirmed that it had overnight targeted several sites around Damascus airport, including an alleged “secret military site” used by Iranians in Syria.

Source: Iran vows ‘crushing response’ to Israel as airstrikes kill militiamen | Middle East Eye

Source: https://www.syriahr.com/en/193489/

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Israel Reveals Reasons Behind Destroying Syrian Border Fortifications in Golan

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 08:12:10 +0000

In past weeks, Israeli forces raided Syrian border fortifications on the contact line in Syria’s Golan Heights, Israeli Brigadier General Roman Gofman told TASS on Friday.

“We conducted an operation against Syrian fortifications, built directly at the border and partially on our territory. That’s why we attacked them and carried out an operation,” said Gofman, who is the commander of the Israel Army Forces 210th Division stationed on the Golan Heights.

“Soldiers, who attacked those positions, returned immediately after blowing them up. They did not stay there when the raids were over.”

The operation was conducted in two stages: One facility was destroyed during the first stage, and two more – during the second one. The operation did not involve any confrontation, he further noted.

Israel does not currently consider Syria a threat, but it is afraid Hezbollah fighters could reinforce their positions on the northern side of the Golan Heights, he added.

The biggest threat is the establishment of a front line from Iran and (Hezbollah) in southern Syria to face Israel, the general explained.

On Oct.21, an Israeli strike hit the province of Quneitra in southern Syria, with a war monitor saying the attack targeted a base for pro-Iran militias.

A missile hit a school in al-Huriyyah village in Quneitra’s northern countryside, hosting groups loyal to the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, amid confirmed reports of casualties.

Israel rarely affirms carrying out similar strikes, but it regularly says that it will continue to block “Iran’s attempts to consolidate its military presence in Syria and send advanced weapons to the Lebanese Hezbollah.”

Israel will not allow Hezbollah or Iran to set up on the Golan Heights border, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz told Israel Radio on Wednesday.

Gantz remarks were made after Israel revealed it had carried out a ground attack in Syrian territories last September, during which it destroyed two army outposts, under the pretext of fear that Hezbollah would use them against it.

Source: Israel Reveals Reasons Behind Destroying Syrian Border Fortifications in Golan | Asharq AL-awsat

Source: https://www.syriahr.com/en/190864/

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Hezbollah playing with fire: Netanyahu

Najia Houssari - Arab News — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 02:37:29 +0000

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues a statement at the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel with the Alternate PM and Defence Minister Benny Gantz July 27, 2020, following the high tensions with the Lebanese militant group of Hezbollah at the Israeli-Lebanon border. (REUTERS)

Militias respond from Lebanon to Israeli airstrike near Damascus

BEIRUT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hezbollah was “playing with fire” after border clashes on Monday. The Lebanese Shiite group denied all involvement.

Netanyahu said that Hezbollah and the Lebanese government “bear responsibility” for the attempt by gunmen to infiltrate Israeli territory, which resulted in an exchange of gunfire but no reported casualties.

“Hezbollah is playing with fire and our response will be very strong,” the Israeli premier said.

His remarks came as the head of the UNIFIL mission, Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Cole, urged both the Lebanese and Israeli sides to exercise maximum restraint after the Hezbollah attack on Monday, which reportedly targeted an Israeli military patrol.

Hezbollah’s operation was in response to the Israeli airstrike south of the Syrian capital, Damascus, on July 20, killing Ali Kamel Mohsen Jawad, a member of Hezbollah.

Jawad was the first Hezbollah fighter to die in Syria since the group’s secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah warned in August 2019 that “the death of any Hezbollah fighter in Syria will cause a response from Lebanon.”

Lebanese reporters stationed along the southern border for days in an anticipation of a response from Hezbollah said that “a Kornet missile attack targeted an Israeli vehicle, while gunfire targeted an Israeli car in the Ruwaysat Al-Alam region in the Shebaa Farms.”

A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Avichay Adraee, said: “The Israeli army thwarted a sabotage operation planned and carried out by a Hezbollah cell of 3 to 4 members who advanced a few meters into a sovereign Israeli area. No casualties were recorded among Israeli soldiers, while the health condition of the infiltrators remains unknown.”

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz had said on Sunday that “Israel does not seek escalation but will firmly respond to any attack targeting it.”

The Israeli artillery responded by shelling Lebanese border areas with the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) saying that “155-millimeter shells targeted the eastern heights of the town of Kafr Shuba and the Ruwaysat Al-Alam area for an hour, causing fires.”

Ruwaysat Al-Alam has a Lebanese Army base and a UNIFIL base.

Extensive overflights were carried out by Israeli fighters, reconnaissance aircraft, and helicopters at a low altitude in the region.

“An artillery shell fell on the house of citizen Fawzi Abu Alwan in the town of Habariyeh as a result of the Israeli shelling of Lebanese villages in Al-Arqoub area,” the NNA reported.

Israeli reconnaissance aircraft were continuously present in the Lebanese airspace throughout the weekend, while an Israeli drone was shot down inside the Lebanese territory.

Netanyahu said that he was following up on what is happening on the northern borders, stressing that “the army is ready to deal with all scenarios.”

“Our policy is clear. We will not allow Iran to have a military foothold along our borders with Syria” Netanyahu said on social media. “We set this policy years ago and we are committed to it. Lebanon and Syria bear the responsibility for any attack launched from their territories against us.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab spoke to President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun to follow up on the latest developments.

Lebanese Foreign Minister, Nassif Hitti, told Sky News that “Lebanon has the right to defend itself against any Israeli aggression on its territory,” noting that “Israel’s history in the region is an aggressive one.”

Hezbollah denied any involvement in the fighting: “Everything the enemy’s media has claimed about thwarting an infiltration operation from Lebanon into occupied Palestine and the death and injury of Hezbollah members in the shelling that targeted the area surrounding sites controlled by the occupying army in the Shebaa Farms area is completely false. It is an attempt to create imaginary and fake victories,” it said.

“The Islamic Resistance did not clash or shoot during today’s events. It was rather a one-sided incident carried out by the fearful, anxious, and tense enemy.

“Our response to the killing of Ali Kamel Mohsen, who died in an attack in the vicinity of Damascus International Airport is coming. Zionists can only wait to receive the punishment for their crimes. The shelling of Habariyeh today, which hit a civilian home, will not be tolerated.”

Source: https://www.arabnews.com/node/1711101/middle-east

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Why the Lebanese Hezbollah is escalating against Israel

Tom Rogan — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 02:15:14 +0000

On Monday, Israeli forces fired on Lebanese Hezbollah fighters who had infiltrated Israel from Lebanon. The incident reflects Hezbollah’s increased interest in carrying out lethal attacks.

Hezbollah media said it suffered no casualties and that the incident was one simply born of Israeli paranoia. The Jerusalem Post reported that there were three to five fighters in the Hezbollah group. Whatever the outcome, the key issue here is why Hezbollah did this in the first place. The group’s leaders knew that there was a very significant risk that their fighters would be engaged and killed. Considering that Israeli forces are not engaged in a military campaign against Hezbollah, the group’s risk-reward calculation here would seem to skew toward not attacking.

But there are two other factors.

First, Hezbollah has been significantly undermined by recent losses inflicted on it by Israel and the United States. The death, in January, of Hezbollah’s primary Iranian interlocutor, Qassem Soleimani, was a serious setback for the group’s work with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. That work centers on establishing a missile launching capability in southern Lebanon and southern Syria to enable Hezbollah’s targeting of major Israeli population centers. Hezbollah suffered another loss last week when one of its fighters was killed while guarding such a missile stockpile in Damascus. Hezbollah again referenced this loss on Monday, warning Israel, “Our response to the martyrdom of the Mujahid brother Ali Kamel Mohsen… is definitely coming, and the Zionists only have to wait for the punishment for their crimes.”

Were Hezbollah in a stronger position, it might fear an escalation in the form of punitive Israeli strikes. Yet the group’s increasingly precarious domestic situation likely alters that assessment. Lebanon’s economy is collapsing under the weight of decades of artificial currency manipulation and sanctions that have isolated Syrian investors from the Lebanese banking system. An international bailout is desperately needed. Hezbollah, however, is refusing to agree to the necessary economic and political reforms being demanded by the European Union and the U.S. in return for any bailout. The group knows these reforms would undermine the sectarian cronyism in which its power is rooted. But with populist anger growing over its intransigence and the crisis no closer to being resolved, Hezbollah risks its erstwhile political allies forming new alliances without it. And if that happens, the group will truly be in trouble.

It’s in this context that Hezbollah might view an exchange of violence with Israel as serving its short-term interests. Lebanese civil society tends to unify around Hezbollah during the conflict with Israel. Even for those who oppose Hezbollah, populist antipathy toward Israel offers a rare opportunity for a pretense of nationalist unity. So if, for example, Hezbollah kills a few Israeli soldiers, it will hope that any ensuing Israeli retaliation only strengthens its Lebanese nationalist credibility.

Iran’s hard-line leadership is also likely to favor short-term escalation. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is deeply upset at being caught between his own collapsing economy, a coronavirus catastrophe, and restored American deterrence against his escalation. If Hezbollah can give Israel a black eye, even if Israel strikes back far harder, Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards will see it as boosting their own credibility. Iran will also regard this as delivering a veiled “We’re still powerful” threat to Iraq’s new prime minister, Mustafa al Kadhimi, who is adopting an agenda to mitigate Iran’s influence.

In short, expect new Hezbollah attacks in the days ahead.

Source: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/why-the-lebanese-hezbollah-is-escalating-against-israel

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Iran Declares War on the US’s Covert Influence in Iraq

The Leaders News — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 07:47:59 +0000

When US officials visited Baghdad and met with the Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, they had two requests: first, to close all commerce and financial exchanges with Iran to strangle the Iranian economy and bring it to its knees. The second was to neutralize the Iraqi groups (known as Hashd al-Shaabi) which sympathize with Iran and carry a similar ideology.

The Iraqi Premier is aware he is being pushed into the heart of two minefields, Iranian and American, and therefore he cannot just walk straight into these fields. He has decided to reject the first US demand because Iraq has religious, commercial and energy bonds with Iran. He is refusing to transform Iraq into a US-Iran battlefield where no winner can be expected to stay on his feet, including Iraq. He wants to force the US administration to back down and agree to provide Iraq with waivers to buy Iranian gas and keep commercial exchange flowing.

What were Abdel Mahdi’s reasons for responding to US pressure? He did not want to have the Americans on his back or turn the country upside down. Therefore, though he refused to satisfy US officials in their first request, he did take account of the latter, seeking to avoid a potential coup d’état and a possible US maneuver to allow the return of the terrorist group “Islamic State” (ISIS). The Prime Minister issued Diwani Order (decree) no. 237 “to organize Hashd al-Shaabi, where all factions close their headquarters and have the option to either join the armed forces or engage in political activity (unarmed). Any faction acting secretly or publicly bypassing these instructions is forbidden. Compliance with the ultimatum is required by the 31 of July”.

The US administration was satisfied with this move, but…

The agitated situation in the Middle East makes it difficult for Iraq to maintain a balanced position, especially since the belligerents are the US (with its military forces stationed in the country), and Iran ( a neighbor). It seems there is little room for compromise. Iran understands Baghdad’s desire to avoid Iraq becoming a war theatre, so long as the cannons can be kept inside the warehouses (because in the case of a military confrontation all limits will disappear); Iran wants to see Iraq stable and prosper: nonetheless Iran will not remain idle in the face of any US hits, and will respond vigorously. The merger of Hashd al-Shaabi has its pros and cons: but Iran cannot turn a blind eye to this event and allow it to become a US victory.

The advantages related to the Prime Minister’s decree 237 are principally the fact that members of Hashd will enjoy equal rights and services (indemnity, social protection, and medical care), just like any other members of the armed and security forces. The negative aspects are numerous.

Firstly, it is a US request and as such represents a blatant intrusion into Iraqi domestic affairs: it is the imposition of the US administration’s policy on a sovereign country. However, the enemies of the US are not necessarily the enemies of Iraq.

There is a reason to believe that Hashd is being targeted precisely because of its essential contributions to Iraqi and regional security, made possible in part because many groups in Hashd are in harmony with Iran.

Many US and western analysts take it upon themselves to regularly and harshly criticize Hashd, ignoring the fact that it was Hashd that saved Iraq (and the rest of the Middle East) from ISIS when all other “security” forces were on the run. The US objective in imposing this reform was to cripple all Iranian friends and allies in Iraq and divide Mesopotamia into Kurdistan, Shiistan, and Sunnistan.

Hashd fought against ISIS effectively, and some groups supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and were partially responsible for the failure of the US-sponsored regime-change war in Syria.
Hashd members have firm ideological commitments (the Christian Babylon Hashd, the Sunni Hashd al-Ashaaer, and Shia Hashd al-Shaabi) and thus stand as a firewall between the government of Baghdad and the US lobby which influences many Iraqi politicians.
Finally, Hashd can stop any attempt at a coup d’état against Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi or any other Prime Minister ruling the country, if carried out by a military wing within the Iraqi Army.

Iraq never forgets how the US stood idle when ISIS occupied 40 percent of the country (all of Anbar, Nineveh, Salahuddin and parts of Diyala and Baghdad) and the US administration watched from afar, refusing to deliver weapons that had already been paid for and scheduled. Kurdistan Leader Masoud Barzani, who welcomed the ISIS occupation of Mosul, was the first to praise Iran’s intervention to arm Kurdistan (and Baghdad) when ISIS turned its guns against Kirkuk and Erbil.

In 2014, the Obama administration saw ISIS was stopped at the gates of Baghdad when the Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Sistani called for the creation of a “Popular Gathering”, the translation of “Hashd al-Shaabi” from the Arabic language.

I witnessed how at this time Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala became empty with the population panicking, particularly when daily rumors of ISIS breaking into Baghdad were constant, demoralizing both the security forces and the population at large.

ISIS supporters in the Anbar tribes cruelly killed all Iraqi opponents while on a disorganized run from Mosul and other parts of Nineveh and Salahuddin provinces: over 1700 Shia cadets were slaughtered, and Sunni security forces were executed with a bullet in the head. Its vicious blood-thirsty reputation preceded its advance towards Iraqi cities, creating amplified fear and terror among Iraqis.

ISIS reached Abu Ghraib indeed and was shelling Baghdad airport from a close distance. Baghdad was almost empty, and ISIS could have occupied it in no time. Hashd, roughly armed, protected Baghdad.

I also witnessed how Saraya al-Salam (the Moqtada al-Sadr militia) took upon itself the protection of Samara along with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Lebanese Hezbollah. This was the moment when the US finally made the first move to have its share of the cake and started to train Army Counter Terrorism units and to provide the weapons already paid for by Iraq.

Inevitably, when embedded within a foreign army, US officers can quickly identify elements or officers willing to collaborate. The memory lingers of the Lebanese Colonel head of the Special Forces school Mansour Diab, who, during his training course in the US, was turned into an agent and then delivered to Israel as his handler–as he confessed when arrested. This is how the US wove its spider’s web within the Iraqi military institution- to the point that Bret McGurk wanted to promote an Iraqi officer to lead the government when Iran imposed Adel Abdel Mahdi. McGurk identified a Shia group that might promote this Iraqi officer but failed in his attempt. Therefore, it is not surprising to witness division within the Army since the Shia took power from the Sunni President Saddam Hussein.

However, the events of the last few days were not something that Iran could allow to pass without reacting. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requested that Iraq dilute Hashd al-Shaabi within the security forces and that the Army eliminate its identity and existence. This move pushed Iran to declare a “silent war” on the US. It is an intelligence war, directly linked to the overwhelming tension between the two countries, and triggered by Trump’s unilateral decision to revoke the nuclear deal.

Iran decided to release one of its protected secrets, the presence of a technology shared with its allies in Iraq and Lebanon: monitoring, tapping and listening to WhatsApp.

During recent repeated visits to Iraq, I noticed top leaders of the country, in the political and military echelons, using WhatsApp freely. They believed messages could be monitored, and intelligence services could identify who is calling whom without having access to voice call content. However, they were unaware that this tapping technology was available to the Israelis, to the Americans and all European countries. Many Arab states prevent the use of WhatsApp in their countries for lack of access to all its features. All my attempts to convince them that their beliefs about tapping capabilities were incorrect failed.

The US seems unaware that Iran’s allies in Iraq have acquired this capability (similar to that of Hezbollah in Lebanon). Those Iraqi-US dual nationals who work with the US intelligence service in Iraq provided false security information to local agents who believed their communication system was protected.

This is how one of the leading US agents, Brigadier General Mahmoud al-Fallahi, commander of Anbar Army and responsible for the borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, was caught while passing on sensitive and compromising information to the CIA in Iraq. Al-Fallahi has the names of many Iraqi officers who are willing to collaborate to overthrow the Iraqi government and eliminate Hashd al-Shaabi, the main obstacle to US plans in Iraq, according to sources within the Iraqi government.

The high-ranking Iraqi officer al-Fallahi delivered to the CIA agent all coordinates of the location of Hizballah-Iraq at al-Qaem, on the borders with Syria, the locations and armament of “Kataeb Imam Ali”, the logistics, command and control positions, the weapons, food and gasoline supplies and the names of commanders of Nujabaa, Kataeb Sayyed al-Shuhada’ and Hezbollah-Iraq.

Last year, Israeli jets bombed Hashd al-Shaabi on the borders with Syria causing dozens of fatalities. Sources within the intelligence community believe the reason for hitting Hashd on the borders with Syria could be to help divert attention away from the movement of groups or troops in the area during the bombing.

The US officials who asked Abdel Mahdi to get-rid of Hashd forwarded “proof” that the drone which was responsible for targeting the Aramco pipeline in Saudi Arabia last month departed from Iraq, not Yemen as the Houthis claimed. This is how Pompeo forwarded his case to put pressure on the Iraqi Prime Minister.

However, the Iraqi Prime Minister disregarded the role of the Peshmerga in Kurdistan. The Kurdish Army receives instructions from Kurdistan province, not from the Iraqi political leadership in Baghdad. The Peshmerga attacked and killed members of the Iraqi Army while refusing to deliver Kirkuk and their positions on the borders with Turkey in order to protect hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil smuggled into Turkey daily. Baghdad pays the salary of the Peshmerga whose loyalty is far from being exclusive to Adel Abdel Mahdi. Moreover, the Peshmerga and Kurdistan enjoy the full support of US forces, unlike Hashd al-Shaabi. However, Abadi significantly failed to include the Peshmerga in his 237 Decree.

The Iraqi Prime Minister is forcing the wrong door by supposing he can dilute Hashd al-Shaabi. Abdel Mahdi does not have enough political support from the political parties to implement this US wish. Moreover, the Iraqi Prime Minister lacks the fortitude to start a domestic fight or trigger a storm, or even a partition within the security institutions.

However, he is showing weakness, faced by a US administration that is itself used to acting without caring about the consequences and which certainly does not mind seeing Iraq heading towards a dark tunnel. The US military presence in Iraq no longer holds the power it used to in 2003. Today Iraq is much stronger and organized, and can turn the US forces’ presence into a “hell on earth” situation.

The ex-prime Minister Haidar Abadi gave unlimited concessions to the US military in Iraq, providing them with legal authority that crippled Iraqi sovereignty and limited Iraqi capabilities. Abadi allowed trainers from the US (and other Europeans and partners) widespread influence within the Iraqi military and security institutions.

However, Iraq is not willing to be under US control and is therefore ready to fight back against US influence as necessary. Sources within the Iraqi leadership said “the US is untrustworthy. Iran executed hundreds of high-ranking officers when the revolution took over because the British and the Americans had infiltrated the Army. Hashd, by exposing a major US asset within the Iraqi Army (Mahmoud al-Fallahi) is hitting the US lobby within the Army. There are many more US agents, and we have robust proof of their destructive role against their nationals”.

“The US administration is considered the enemy of the people for many in the Middle East, including the Iraqi people. Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi must clean up the Army and the security forces. The list of traitors is long and will come to full daylight in due course”, said the source.

It is a battle of brains and intelligence. A battle the US believed it was winning by hitting Iran in Iraq apparently above the belt. The US was unaware that Iran is ready and is already hitting back below the belt. This kind of war is a silent one- and the next episode is still to come!

Source: http://www.theleadersnews.com/iran-declares-war-on-the-uss-covert-influence-in-iraq/

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Russia warns U.S. to not ‘look for excuses to start a new conflict’ after report claims Iran Killed 600 U.S. soldiers

Tom O'Connor — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 06:17:37 +0000

Moscow expressed skepticism toward Washington’s recent allegations that Iran was behind the deaths over 600 U.S. troops in Iraq and warned against launching any new wars in the Middle East.

During a Tuesday press briefing at the State Department, Brian Hook, U.S. special envoy to Iran, revealed “based on declassified U.S. military reports, that Iran is responsible for the deaths of at least 608 American service members” throughout the course of the Iraq War.

Hook claimed that “this accounts for 17 percent of all deaths of U.S. personnel in Iraq from 2003 to 2011” and did not take into account “the many thousands of Iraqis killed” by Shiite Muslim militias allegedly trained by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.

While Iran has yet to respond to the remarks, its partner in neighboring Syria has deemed the claim suspicious amid President Donald Trump’s campaign to discredit the revolutionary Shiite Muslim power. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters Thursday that she was “surprised” by the allegations, as “we haven’t heard of any clashes between Americans and Iranians on the territory of Iraq, so our Washington colleagues have to explain what exactly they mean by Teheran’s involvement.”

“There should be no doubt that American intervention against Iraq will remain in history as the gravest violation of international law and a de facto criminal act,” added Zakharova. “We advise the United States not to look for excuses to start a new conflict, increasing the suffering throughout the world with its aggressive policy.”

U.S. Army troops take position as they come under sniper fire during sporadic fighting with Shiite Muslim militiamen, in Najaf, Iraq, on August 20, 2004. Though the U.S. was predominantly focused on battling Sunni Muslim groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq—later ISIS—troops also confronted Shiite Muslim fighters allegedly backed by Iran.JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES

The U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003, seeking to overthrow then-President Saddam Hussein, based on accusations that he possessed chemical weapons and harbored ties with Al-Qaeda. Though the goal of removing Hussein from power succeeded, the allegations he had weapons of mass destruction was later proven false. Troops subsequently faced insurgencies waged by Baath loyalists, ultraconservative Sunni Muslim groups such as Al-Qaeda and Shiite Muslim paramilitary forces said to have received Iranian support.

While the Pentagon counted over 3,500 troops killed in action from 2003 through 2011, Zakharova noted that “there is no exact figure” as to how many civilians died, though it may be in “the hundreds of thousands.” Lower estimates, like that of the Iraq Body Count project, placed the number of verified violent civilian deaths throughout these years at over 114,000. Higher estimates, such as a 2013 study published by PLOS Medicine, placed the toll of all Iraqis killed at in excess of 405,000.

These reports did not include tens of thousands killed in Iraq in the ensuing eight years, but the latter figure resembled estimates of the half-million believed dead in neighboring Syria since the outbreak of a 2011 rebel and jihadi uprising backed by the U.S. and its regional allies. By 2014, Al-Qaeda offshoot the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) had taken large parts of both Iraq and Syria and the Pentagon formed an international coalition to begin bombing the group in both countries.

At this point, the U.S. and Iran found themselves on the same side battling ISIS in Iraq, where they both supported the Shiite Muslim-dominated leadership in Baghdad, but waging opposing campaigns against the jihadis in Syria, where Tehran backed the same government that Washington had attempted to depose. Russia also entered the conflict in 2015, supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad—who, like Hussein, the West has accused of war crimes—and his allies against insurgents and militant groups alike.

With ISIS now mostly eradicated thanks largely to efforts by all three countries and their local allies, the U.S. has turned its attention toward expelling groups said to be under Iranian command from the region. Tehran’s alleged support for U.S.-designated terrorist organizations such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades were cited as part of the reason that the White House left a landmark nuclear deal in 2015, enacting new sanctions designed to strangle the Iranian economy.

Syrians wave the national flag, along with those of Iran and Russia, as they ride in a vehicle carrying the flag of the Lebanese Shiite Muslim Amal Movement and portraits of President Bashar al-Assad, late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah as citizens gather at the Umayyad Square in Damascus on April 14 to condemn the strikes carried out by the U.S., U.K. and France.LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Russia has been careful not to characterize its relationship with Iran as a formal alliance, but rather as a “strategic partnership” with the common interest of supporting Assad. Both countries had mutual grievances with the U.S. due to long-running rivalries and more recent economic restrictions, but their visions for the region as a whole diverged at times.

Ties between Russia and Iran’s sworn foes, Israel and Saudi Arabia, have particularly alienated Moscow from the so-called “Axis of Resistance” group comprising Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and other allied militias across the Middle East. The group’s name derived from President George W. Bush’s “Axis of Evil” speech that included Iraq, Iran and North Korea and was later expanded by then-Undersecretary of State John Bolton to include Cuba, Libya and Syria.

Bolton, now the U.S. National Security Advisor, has supported military action against all of these countries with the potential exception of Cuba, whom he has increasingly targeted in recent months as part of the Trump administration’s intensifying efforts to overthrow the socialist government of Venezuela.

Russia, Iran and Syria were among the countries supporting the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in the face of what they deem to be a coup attempt backed by Washington and its allies in support of the Venezuelan opposition. The U.S. and dozens of its allies do not recognize Maduro’s authority in Venezuela, and instead has backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó.

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/russia-warns-us-excuses-conflict-iran-1386525

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Thirty-four years ago today, Iran began its blood feud with America

Tom Rogan — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 11:54:04 +0000

Thirty-four years ago today, Iran began its blood feud with America.

On Oct. 23, 1983, a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden truck into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. His bomb killed 241 U.S. service personnel, mostly Marines.

While Iran has long sought to hide its responsibility for this act of mass murder, the evidence indicates the attack was carried out by an element of the Lebanese Hezbollah and under the orders of the Iranian government.

Aside from the moral impact of fallen Americans, Iran’s involvement here gives all Americans a strategic interest in reminding themselves what happened that day. Because Oct. 23, 1983 laid the foundation of America’s enduring relationship with Iran.

Consider that by 1983, U.S. hostages held in Tehran had been home for over two years. Moreover, the U.S. military mission to Lebanon was designed to support that nation’s beleaguered government and counter growing violence from various Lebanese sectarian blocs. The Marine mission was neither designed nor effected to target Iranian interests. Instead, as the Beirut barracks memorial attests, the U.S. Marines “came in peace.”

Iran, however, came to Beirut with a very different mission. They regarded American influence in Lebanon as incompatible with their theological mission to dominate the region under Khomeinist-hegemony.

Nothing has changed since then. After all, since 1983, Iran has pursued dozens of terrorist plots against America, pursued an industrial-level kill-and-maim campaign against Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan, and sought to destroy U.S. allies from Baghdad to Beirut. Ultimately, Iran carried out these attacks for the same reason that it carried out the 1983 barracks bombing: because they know that in order to dominate the Middle East, they must first push the United States out.

Don’t get me wrong, my contention here is not that we should meet Iran’s malevolence with war. Yet we must recognize the sustaining theme of Iranian policy towards America between Oct. 23, 1983 to Oct. 23, 2017. That clear-eyed appreciation for reality is crucial as we seek to improve the Iran deal. Crucial, because diplomacy with Iran is possible, but only if sourced in realism rather than idealism.

Put simply, the Marine barracks memorial and 34 years of history remind us to deal with Iran as it is, not as we would wish it to be.

Source: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/thirty-four-years-ago-today-iran-began-its-blood-feud-with-america/article/2638383

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