Israel’s UN ambassador says Iran controls 82,000 fighters in Syria

Israel’s envoy to the United Nations says there are 3,000 soldiers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria, accusing Tehran of seeking to turn the country “into the largest military base in the world.”

Addressing the Security Council, Danny Danon says Iran controls 82,000 fighters in Syria, including 9,000 members of the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, 10,000 Shiite militiamen from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and another 60,000 Syrians.

“We are releasing this classified information because it is vital for the world to understand that if we turn a blind eye in Syria, the Iranian threat will only grow,” he says.

Danon goes on to say the size of the Iranian-backed force in Syria is proof of Tehran’s intentions to sow chaos in the region and threaten Israel.