Iran SITREP: Rebel Groups Could Use Syria Aid Logistics to Transport Illegal Arms

This week, Israel has adopted a stance of preemption by cautioning Iran that any arms consignment headed for Syria under the guise of international aid will be struck following the devastating earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria.

Greg Palkot has described the aftermath of the Turkey-Syria earthquake as “hell on earth.” Rescue personnel is still attempting to free individuals caught beneath the debris as foreign assistance keeps flooding in. Over 22,000 casualties have been reported since the calamity of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the area four days ago, as per updates on Friday.

Security officials in Israel are anxious that Iran might take advantage of the crisis to supply Hezbollah, a terrorist group supported by them since their formation in the 1980s, with weapons.

Iran has recently publicized a new and powerful missile with “Death to Israel” written. This missile was displayed to the public in a show of force.

An Israeli military official, who requested to remain anonymous, told Elaph, a Saudi newspaper, that evidence suggests Iran is taking advantage of the crisis in Syria and is sending arms and military gear to Hezbollah, disguised as humanitarian aid.

According to an anonymous source, Israel is “prepared to attack any equipment or arms located within Syria’s borders.”

Fox News could not independently confirm Iran’s alleged plan to transport weapons to Syria under the guise of aid. Nonetheless, a reporter from the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation Tweeted a Thursday video showing a convoy of “pro-Iranian militias in Iraq” heading to Syria to provide “aid…to the earthquake victims”.

On Friday, a video was posted by a reporter that showed Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani, a commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, was thought to be in Latakia, western Syria, “to keep track of the help given to those affected by the earthquake.”

Tensions between Iran and Israel have been heightened as the former has made a show of force by announcing a new underground airbase and issuing warnings to the latter.

Meanwhile, Yossi Kuperwasser, a distinguished Israeli intelligence and security professional and current senior researcher at the Israel Defense Security Forum, informed Fox News that Tehran has a history of using humanitarian crises to secretly and unlawfully transport weapons. It is possible that they may use the current Syrian crisis as a cover for sending more advanced weaponry to Syria.

Kuperwasser asserted that it is expected that Iran would dispatch advanced air defense batteries, munitions such as “suicide drones,” and components of long-range missiles.

Since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, Iran and Israel have been locked in a proxy battle that has manifested itself in many forms throughout the Middle East. US airstrikes against Iranian-affiliated groups in Syria are just one example of this ongoing conflict.

On October 3, 2012, three bombs exploded at the Saadallah al-Jabri square in Aleppo, Syria, and men were seen walking through the ruins of apartment buildings destroyed in the civil war. The devastation was massive, with entire blocks of buildings completely obliterated. 

The destruction caused by the earthquake in the region could serve as a way for Iran to widen its backing of forces in Syria and other places.

“Iran continues to exploit the Syrian weakness and dependence on external assistance to promote the Iranian strategy of regional dominance and deployment of weapons near Israel,” Kuperwasser said. “It should be clear to the world that Iran is a global disruptor and menace which doesn’t only concern Israel or the Middle East.”