Tag: Iran

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IRAN: “We Caused Our Missiles To Miss On Purpose…”

Last week Iran fired six ground to ground missiles at Deir el-Zour, more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) away in Eastern Syria, reportedly at ISIS. Most reports indicated that the missiles missed their mark and fell apart hitting the desert.

While Iran has never disagreed on those two points, the Mullahs have pushed back on the reasons for the stunning miss.

State TV’s website quoted the airspace division chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh as saying “we had coordinated the fall of the engines in the desert in Iraq” in advance.

“The missiles we used were two-stage, it means that the engine separates from the warhead,” said Hajizadeh.

Impact on Israel

Israel reported that the warheads missed their mark, while three didn’t even reach Syrian territory.  If the report is correct, Iranian missile technology, at least the kind that was used on Sunday is not as advanced as orginally thought.  Does this mean Israel should rest easy?

No. The Iranian regime is also very good at playing games.  They could have launched those missiles purposely showing off faulty technology to throw the West off.

This is a lot better than the official explanation given for the reason why Israel was able to track downed missiles:

“Pity those who call themselves experts and do not understand that these were the first-stage engines (that fell), while the warheads hit targets.”

Either the Iranian regime doesn’t know the Russians, USA, and Israel all recorded missiles that missed their mark or they are just face saving.  Either way, unless this is a ruse, the Mullahs are in far worse shape than we thought.

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SYRIA CRISIS CONTINUES: Gunfire Spills Over into Israel Three Days in a Row, IDF Responds

Gunfire from Syria was reported this morning (Monday) in the Golan Heights, for the third consecutive day. As in the past two days, there are no casualties or damage.

The IDF ordered farmers in the Quneitra Valley to evacuate their orchards and closed the road leading to Ein Zivan, due to heavy smoke in the area as a result of the fighting in Syria.

Security sources reported hearing IDF tank fire, ostensibly in response to Syrian territory, but said that “the reports of an attack in Syria are false reports.” It added that “there were no indications and risks in the systems, and no alarm was sounded.”

Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman said at the start of yesterday’s cabinet meeting:

“We have a lot of prophets who predict war in the north or the south, we have no intention of initiating a military move – neither in the south nor in the north.” However, he clarified that “we are not going to give a pass on anything, everything will have a powerful response.”

“I wanted to warn the people in Damascus, whoever wants to turn the area there into a Hizbullah base, give it another thought,” added Lieberman. “We will not accept that Syria becomes another base that will become a front against Israel.” 

As Syria and Iranian backed militias gain a foothold in the Quneitra district, Israel will be forced to openly back the rebels in the area or enter the war themselves.  If Syria and Iran gain access to the Golan, Israel’s security would be imperiled due to the Golan’s strategic vantage point.

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SYRIA CRISIS: Will Har Dov Be Iran’s First Target in Israel?

Har Dov maybe the first target of an Iranian attack on Israel.

As the Iranian and Russian backed Syrian government continues to extend its offenses South into the Daraa province, effectively cutting off Israel backed militias in the Eastern Golan with their counterparts East of Jabal Al-Druze, the next stop for the campaign is to move West on the Golan border.

Israel has controlled the Golan since 1967 and annexed the mountainous area in 1981.  Syria has never hidden its ambition in taking back the strategic territory, either through war or negotiations. Unlike the Southern Lebanese border area, the Golan has only recently been the subject and focus of Hezbollah.

With the advance of the Russian-Iranian axis the Har Dov area of the Golan takes an added statregic importance. Claimed by both Lebanon and Syria, Har Dov, also known as the Shebaa Farms has been the source of increased surveilance by Hezbollah.

Sources close to Israel Rising told us the official response to these surveliance actions has been to not shoot out of fear of starting a war with Hezbollah prematurely.  Hezbollah agents are often seen close to the mountainous border fence aking pictures.  Since they are not armed, soldiers refrain from shooting.

So why is Iran focused on Har Dov?

Although the international community has backed Israel’s claim that the area is in fact Syrian and included in the Golan Heights, the Lebanese government still claims the strategic region.  More than that the border area is pourous as the IDF was forced to fence in the entire Arab town of Ghajar which is further South of Har Dov and lies on both sides of the Lebanese border.

As far as strategic importance, Har Dov leads to the Banias river which descends into the upper Galil opening up the entire Israeli North. With Iran/Syria/Russia building up on the Golan’s Eastern border, an attack and infiltration on Har Dov could effectively cut the Golan off from Northern Israel.

 

Har Dov in the Golan
Image Source: Garzo/Wiki

 

With the continued breakdown of the US backed coalition forces in Southern Syria, Har Dov becomes critical in defending against an Iranian backed attack on Iran. Northern Israel and the Golan Heights is fast becoming the next showdown in the Syrian conflict.

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WAR ESCALATES: Why Did Iran Just Shoot Missiles Into Syria?

The war in Syria has gone from intensified to explosive as the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it fired several ground o ground missiles in from Western Iran into Syria’s Deir Ezzor region in the country’s East.

The purpose, according to the Iranians was a realiation for the attack on Tehran by ISIS on June 7th.

Most likely the Iranian missile attack on Eastern Syria was far more a message for the US coalition than a retaliation against ISIS.

Three points to consider:

  1. The proximity in time to the downing of a Syrian Warplane makes the missile attack a likely soft-retaliation for the US attack within sovereign Syria.
  2. The Iranians need a powerplay as the SDF/YPG are moving South and North in a rush to pick up the pieces as ISIS falls apart. The message is clear: “Don’t expect a post ISIS Syria to be a cake walk.”
  3. Iran wanted to send a message to Israel: “We can already reach you.”

As the Syrian war seems to be exploding in a far more dangerous and chaotic way all the issues surrounding the war are coming to a head.  The next move is now Trump’s…is he willing to stop Iran?

 

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Are Post ISIS Alliances Already Taking Shape?

As the Raqqa operation gets underway, with the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) ploughing forward into the “capital” of ISIS, the terror group’s leaders and fighters are said to have already travelled to safe havens along the middle Euphrates.  With the American backed SDF bogged down in strett to street fighting, Iranian paramilitary units are pouring in from where they helped fight to free Mosul to Eastern Syria to destroy the heads of ISIS.

This struggle for land as ISIS collapses is forming the beginnings of regional boundaries that in essence brand new lines between ethnic units as well as defined frontiers of regional alliances.

Rising up from the rubble of ISIS are two clearly definied groupings.

The first consists of Russia, Iran, Syria (Assad), Turkey, and Qatar.  None of these countries trust eachother, but work together under a common interest in battling back America as well as seeking a piece of what they see as a rising Middle Eastern hegemony.

The second group is made up of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Kurds and Israel.  This grouping sees the first group as an existential threat and has been conjoled to work together by the Trump administration.

With the fall of ISIS a matter of weeks, the real battle will come after. Iran has used the chaos to reach to the Israeli border.  They have shown the ability to capitalize on the weaknesses of their enemies. Besides Iran, Hezbollah can now turn its sites on Israel.

The Middle Eastern alliances now taking shape even before the last of the caliphate are buried not only put Iran im the drivers seat, but increase the likelihood of war sooner rather than later.  The Syckes-Picot agreement, the document based colonialist and neo-colonialist pinciples set in motion by France and Germany is becoming irrelevant as a new set of states and mini states take shape.

As the chaos spreads throughout the region and beyond, the Saudis backed by Israeli tehnology will attempt to push back on the Shiite gains in order to create a buffer between the Kingdom and its enemies. The Kurds backed covertly by Israel and overtly by America will be encouraged to push forward in order to stabilize Northern Syria and Iraq and break the link between a power hungry Turkey and their allies in Qatar.

Be prepared the Great Game of the Middle East is about to begin. It could very well be far more destructive than the havoc ISIS has caused.