Iran Secures Control over Water Smuggling Routes in Eastern Syria


Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces during the graduation of a military batch in the Al-Omar oil field (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces during the graduation of a military batch in the Al-Omar oil field (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Iran Secures Control over Water Smuggling Routes in Eastern Syria


Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces during the graduation of a military batch in the Al-Omar oil field (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces during the graduation of a military batch in the Al-Omar oil field (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has taken control over all waterways separating their area of control in east Syria’s al-Mayadeen region in Deir Ezzor and areas controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, reliable sources told the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The water crossings are usually used as smuggling routes.

“A Revolutionary Guard armed group captured Al-Bareed crossing after expelling the 4th Division’s members stationed there,” the Observatory said.

“The group also expelled National Defense Forces from the crossings of Al-Taybah and Al-Kurnish, bringing them under its control. However, the reasons behind this action have not been known yet,” it added.

National Defense Forces and the 4th Division both back the Syrian regime, which is supposedly an ally to Iran.

In other news, the Observatory reported that eleven people were killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes near Damascus on Monday night.

Syrian air defenses intercepted missiles over the southern region of the country on Monday near Damascus, state television cited a Syrian military source as saying. The source accused Israel of being behind the attacks.

The strikes reportedly killed seven Iranian-backed militants of non-Syrian nationalities and three Syrian soldiers, according to the Observatory.

The state news agency SANA, on the other hand, cited a military source as saying that only two people were killed, and seven were injured.

While Syrian officials accuse Israel of being behind the attack, Tel Aviv has not acknowledged the strike.

Israel, however, has repeatedly attacked Iranian targets in Syria and those of allied militias, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth daily, the strikes targeted a number of Syrian Army positions that were being used by Iranian militias. These positions were located in the northeast of the southern Daraa province, south of the capital Damascus and in al-Kiswa region.



Israel's Netanyahu Heads to Hungary, Defying ICC Arrest Warrant

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, February 16, 2025. Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, February 16, 2025. Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Israel's Netanyahu Heads to Hungary, Defying ICC Arrest Warrant

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, February 16, 2025. Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, February 16, 2025. Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begins a four-day visit to Hungary on Thursday, defying an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza as Israel has expanded its military operation in the enclave.

As a founding member of the ICC, Hungary is theoretically obliged to arrest and hand over anyone subject to a warrant from the court but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made clear when he issued the invitation that Hungary would not respect the ruling.

Netanyahu is due to meet Orban ahead of a press conference at around 1000 GMT.

In Budapest, workers were constructing a stage in the Buda Castle on Wednesday, where Orban was scheduled to welcome Netanyahu in a ceremony with military honors on Thursday morning and security forces could be seen near the central Budapest hotel where Netanyahu will be staying, The AP news reported.

The visit will be only the second he has made abroad since the International Criminal Court issued warrants to arrest both him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant last November, but details of his program have been limited apart from a planned visit to a Holocaust memorial.

He visited Washington in February to meet close ally US President Donald Trump. Neither Israel nor the United States are members of the ICC, with Washington arguing the ICC could be used for politically motivated prosecutions.

Orban invited Netanyahu to visit a day after the ICC issued its arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza, where Israel launched an offensive following a devastating attack by thousands of Hamas fighters on the October 7 attack.

Since then, the Israeli campaign has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and devastated the Gaza Strip, triggering protests worldwide and prompting South Africa to launch separate legal action in the International Court of Justice, a different body to the ICC, accusing Israel of genocide.