Iran said to be building large military base on Iraq-Syria border
New military facility seen in Israeli satellite images features five weapons storerooms and will be able to house thousands of soldiers
Iran is construction a new military facility in Syria that can house thousands of soldiers, according to a Tuesday Fox News report.
Quoting Western intelligence sources, the US cable network said the base is located near the Syria-Iraq border, and its construction is being overseen by the Quds Force, the overseas branch of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Satellite photos of the base, known as the Imam Ali compound, showed what appeared to be five recently constructed buildings that can store precision-guided missiles, according to ImageSat International.
ImageSat, an Israeli satellite imagery analysis firm, said the photos also show other structures at the facility that could be used for storing missiles.
The images also show what appears to be Iranian construction on a new border crossing that near the existing al-Qaim border crossing with Iraq.
ISI analysts told Fox that the base would be completed and operational in the next few months.
Defense officials said the Imam Ali compound marked the first time Tehran was constructing a military base in Syria, and noted that it was less than 200 miles away from a US military installation in neighboring Iraq.
Israel views Iran as its greatest threat, and has acknowledged carrying out scores of airstrikes in Syria in recent years aimed primarily at preventing the transfers of sophisticated weapons, including guided missiles, to the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
This quiet war has reportedly expanded to Iraq in recent weeks, with US officials saying the Israel Defense Forces was behind at least some strikes on Iran-linked sites outside of Baghdad.
The Pentagon, which is mindful of not alienating Iraq’s leadership and jeopardizing its military presence in the country, has pointedly distanced itself from the mysterious explosions.
Since mid-July, five arms depots and training camps belonging to Popular Mobilization Force have been targeted in apparent attacks.
The PMF has blamed both Israel and the US for the recent string of blasts and drone sightings at its bases, but Baghdad has mostly refrained from making direct accusations.
The PMF was established in 2014 from mostly Shiite paramilitary groups and volunteers to fight the Islamic State jihadist organization and is now formally part of Iraq’s armed forces.
But the US and Israel fear some units are an extension of Iran and have been equipped with precision-guided missiles that could reach Israel.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran and Hezbollah of racing to build a missile-production program in Lebanon, vowing to destroy the ambitious project and issuing a stern warning to his enemies to “be careful.”
“We are determined to eliminate this dangerous project,” he said. “The aim of the publication today is to convey a message that we will not sit by and allow our enemies to arm themselves with deadly weapons directed at us.”
Netanyahu last week also addressed General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Quds Force and the architect of its regional entrenchment, telling him to “be careful with your words and be even more careful with your actions.”
Last month, an Israeli airstrike thwarted what Israel said was a plot by Iran to launch a series of explosives-laden attack drones meant to crash into targets in the country. Iran denied the claims.
Hours later, Israel allegedly struck Iran-linked targets as far away as Iraq and crash-landed two drones in Hezbollah-dominated southern Beirut.
