Why is Tehran recruiting Daesh militants?
Why is Tehran recruiting Daesh militants?
I am constantly astounded at how otherwise-sensible journalists and diplomats are willing to believe Iranian and Russian professions of good faith, despite all evidence to the contrary. Earlier this year, many credulous figures pronounced the end of Iranian expansionism in Syria. Why? Because Russian President Vladimir Putin had promised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in good faith that Iranian proxies would be purged from southern Syrian.
Iran has invested tens of billions of dollars in the Syrian meat-grinder, with dozens of Islamic Republican Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel killed. It will not meekly depart Syria with its tail between its legs at the first hint of pressure from Netanyahu. Despite a token withdrawal of some Hezbollah foot soldiers, the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah defiantly announced that Hezbollah would remain in Syria as long as President Bashar Assad desired — as if Assad is even allowed to sneeze without asking Iran’s permission first.
Tehran understands that to perpetuate its dominant position in Syria, it must rely on local assets. Sectarian militias responsible for the worst massacres were trained and armed by Iran. Now it is reportedly recruiting a new generation of Syrian militias. IRGC and Hezbollah officers have embarked on a recruitment campaign throughout refugee camps, and batches of trainees recently graduated near the Syrian city of Deraa.
Hezbollah has reportedly paid around 2,000 former rebels to change sides, particularly among those forces that recently lost US funding. American officials sent WhatsApp messages to rebel commanders saying they should not go into battle with the “expectation of military intervention by us.” One commander bitterly interpreted Washington’s betrayal as meaning: “Go to Russia, go to the (Assad) regime, go to Iran.”
Read more: Arab News
Iran Briefing | News Press Focus on Human Rights Violation by IRGC, Iran Human Rights