The interrogation of an Iranian citizen apprehended by the Free Syrian Army reveals the military and terrorist infrastructure that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hizbullah have built on the Syrian Golan, which, according to the IDF’s intelligence branch, is also directed at Israel.
On February 3, 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, visited the Hermon Brigade and IDF outposts that keep watch on the Syrian and Lebanese border at Har Dov and on the Golan Heights. The newspaper Israel Hayom reported that during the visit Netanyahu addressed the military and terrorist threat to Israel that Iran has positioned at the Syrian border.1
The paper quoted him as saying, “I came here with the defense minister and IDF commanders to view the IDF’s deployment against the threats developing on the Golan Heights.” Netanyahu added that “Iran is trying to open a new front here, in addition to the fronts in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.”
Defense Minister Yaalon said during the visit, “Iran has been stepping up its effort to open a front against us on the Golan Heights. This is the Iran that sends contingents to Afghanistan and Iraq, to Lebanon, to Syria and Yemen. Wherever Iran is involved there is no stability.”
An official document of the Free Syrian Army (February 5, 2015) confirms Israeli intelligence assessments regarding Iran and Hizbullah’s military presence on the Syrian Golan, based on the initial interrogation of an Iranian citizen who was apprehended by the rebels. Below is a translation of the document, which is written in Arabic:2
Details from the interrogation of the Iranian prisoner
The Free Syrian Army
Southern Front
United Al-Sham [Greater Syria] Front
Announcement of the uncovering of cells connected to Hizbullah and to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps
After the interrogation of the Iranian prisoner that was conducted at the Office of Interrogations and Justice of the United Al-Sham Front, it emerges that:
- There are sleeper cells that have been trained by Hizbullah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which are cooperating with them and are conveying information on the movement of the rebels and the commanders.
- The cells are deployed in Daraa and in Kuneitra.
- They have been trained in the use of explosive devices.
- Hizbullah operatives construct explosive devices and precisely define the targets for attack.
- They maintain direct contact between Hizbullah commanders and the Revolutionary Guard.
- The installment of explosive devices in all of the suicide-attack cars is performed in full secrecy at bases of Syrian security.
- The suicide-attack cars are parked in public places at the busiest hours, such as the market and the mosques during Friday prayers.
- A monetary sum of 100,000-200,000 Syrian liras has been budgeted expressly for those who carry out an attack.
Those are the initial findings we have obtained from the Iranian prisoner, who admitted to everything that was said above.
Commander of the United Al-Sham Front
Engineer Abu Ahmed
Date: The 16th of the fourth month of the Hegirian year 1436, or February 5, 2015
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Notes
