Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior advisor to the supreme leader and former commander of the IRGC.
A top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander told Iranian media last week that the Guard supplies intelligence to Russia for airstrikes in Syria. Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, who is senior advisor to the supreme leader and was IRGC chief commander from 1997 through 2007, made the remarks in a lengthy television interview on Sept. 22.
“The Russians are responsible for aerial support of ground units, meaning those who are fighting on the ground are the Syrian army, Syrian popular forces, and some advisory forces and/or Hezbollah forces. Russia largely plays the role of supporting these [forces] by air,” Safavi said.
“Many victories like the capture of Aleppo would not have been possible without movement on the ground and only with air support,” Safavi continued. “The Russian air support was of course effective, but the ground forces gave them the intelligence that, for example, [told them] which terrorists were in what area.”
Facts on the ground support this claim. The IRGC-led Shiite expeditionary forces, which are comprised of IRGC proxies from Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Pakistan, were instrumental in the encircling of the rebel-held eastern Aleppo city in late July, and the reimposition of the siege in early September after the coalition of Islamists, Salafists, and rebels broke the initial siege in early August. A coordinated and intense Russian bombing campaign was a crucial factor in the successes of the pro-regime coalition. [See LWJ report, Soleimani’s presence in Aleppo underscores strategy of crushing rebels.]
Safavi overplays the role that the Syrian Arab Army and the IRGC-backed Syrian National Defense Forces, a pro-regime militia, have played in the recent battles for Aleppo in order to bury the extent to which Assad relies on foreign patrons as foot soldiers in arguably the most important battle of the civil war yet.
The ground offensive in Aleppo has been primarily designed and led by Iranian military officers in coordination with Russian and Syrian officers. Militia units under the supervision of IRGC or Hezbollah operatives may conduct the intelligence collection, and the final planning, target selection, and coordination would fall on the Iranians and the Russians.
Intelligence collection for Russian sorties elsewhere in which Syrian forces have more presence and responsible would plausibly fall on them. The strategic command headquarters that oversees all operations includes Russians, Iranians, Syrians, and IRGC-backed proxy commanders.
from Long War Journal – The Long War Journal http://ift.tt/2dnKnOS
via Defense News
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