Suspicious Iranian Movements Near Syrian-Iraqi Borders after Israeli Bombing

 Smoke is seen following an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, July 15, 2017. (AFP/Bulent Kilic)
Smoke is seen following an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, July 15, 2017. (AFP/Bulent Kilic)
TT
20

Suspicious Iranian Movements Near Syrian-Iraqi Borders after Israeli Bombing

 Smoke is seen following an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, July 15, 2017. (AFP/Bulent Kilic)
Smoke is seen following an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, July 15, 2017. (AFP/Bulent Kilic)

Iranian militias have replaced their flags in their military sites and bases located in large areas of eastern Syria, with the flags of the Syrian regime, amid fears of a new Israeli attacks, according to local sources and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Sources in the cities of Al-Mayadin and Al-Bukamal, in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, said that the IRGC transported ammunition and heavy weapons, including missiles, through refrigerators and trucks carrying Syrian plate numbers, as part of a camouflaged repositioning, days after the heaviest Israeli raids targeted eastern Syria.

Well-informed sources revealed that the Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias continue to change their positions in this geographical area along the Iraqi borders, pointing to “suspicious” movements of the Iranians and their allies in that region.

According to the Jusoor Center for Studies and Development, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is deployed in 125 locations throughout Syria, distributed over 10 governorates, mainly Daraa in the South, which includes 37 military posts, followed by Damascus and its countryside with 22 sites and Aleppo in the north, with 15 military points and headquarters.

The Deir Ezzor Governorate has 13 Iranian posts, the largest of which are located in the cities of Al-Mayadeen and Al-Bukamal.

Iran has been one of the largest military forces supporting the ruling regime in Syria, after Russia, since the outbreak of the anti-regime protests in the spring of 2011.

Local activists, SOHR and the Jusoor Center reported that most Iranian fighters in Syria operate within the ranks of the IRGC and are deployed in southern Damascus, the southern countryside of Aleppo, the eastern countryside of Homs, and the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor.



Trump to the Houthis: Real Pain Yet to Come

Houthi supporters attend a protest against US airstrikes on Houthi positions, on Al-Quds Day in Sanaa, Yemen, 28 March 2025. (EPA)
Houthi supporters attend a protest against US airstrikes on Houthi positions, on Al-Quds Day in Sanaa, Yemen, 28 March 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Trump to the Houthis: Real Pain Yet to Come

Houthi supporters attend a protest against US airstrikes on Houthi positions, on Al-Quds Day in Sanaa, Yemen, 28 March 2025. (EPA)
Houthi supporters attend a protest against US airstrikes on Houthi positions, on Al-Quds Day in Sanaa, Yemen, 28 March 2025. (EPA)

Yemen's Houthi militias claimed Tuesday that they shot down another American MQ-9 Reaper drone, even as the US kept up its campaign of intense airstrikes targeting the group.

The reported shootdown over Yemen's contested Marib governate came as airstrikes hit around Sanaa, the country's Houthi-held capital, and Saada, a stronghold for the Houthis.

US President Donald Trump issued a new warning to both the Houthis and their main benefactor, Iran, describing the group as having “been decimated” by the campaign of strikes that began March 15.

“Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us,” Trump wrote on his social media website Truth Social. “We hit them every day and night — Harder and harder. Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are rapidly being destroyed. Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation.”

He added: “The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at US ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran.”

The Houthis claimed to have felled a drone in Marib governorate, home to oil and gas fields still under the control of allies to Yemen’s legitimate government. Footage released on social media showed flames in the night, with a Yemeni man claiming a drone had been shot down.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, separately claimed downing the MQ-9 drone in a prerecorded video message.

Saree described the Houthis targeting the drone with “a suitable locally manufactured missile." The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of downing aircraft.

Iran denies arming the Houthis, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the militants despite a United Nations arms embargo.

The US military acknowledged to The Associated Press being aware of reports of the downing of a Reaper, but declined to comment further.

General Atomics Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes over 40,000 feet (12,100 meters) and remain in the air for over 30 hours. The aircraft have been flown by both the US military and the CIA for years over Afghanistan, Iraq and now Yemen.

The Houthis claim they've shot down 20 MQ-9s over the country over the years, with 16 downed during the militants' campaign over the Israel-Hamas war. The US military hasn't acknowledged the total number of the drones it has lost there.

An Associated Press review has found the new American operation against the Houthis under Trump appears more extensive than those under former President Joe Biden, as the US moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in cities.

The new campaign of airstrikes, which the Houthis now say have killed at least 61 people, started after the Houthis threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The militants have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.

The Houthis targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships, though none has been hit so far.