Iran-backed Militias Use Vegetable Trucks to Smuggle Weapons into Syria

File photo of pro-Iran militias in Deir Ezzor. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
File photo of pro-Iran militias in Deir Ezzor. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
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Iran-backed Militias Use Vegetable Trucks to Smuggle Weapons into Syria

File photo of pro-Iran militias in Deir Ezzor. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
File photo of pro-Iran militias in Deir Ezzor. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

A shipment of arms and ammunition loaded on vegetable trucks entered Syrian territory from Iraq, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Observatory said that the shipment was smuggled out "fear of being targeted” by the United States or Israel.

It entered from the Syria through an unofficial border crossing.

The weapons, which included short-range rockets and their launchers, were moved to the town of al-Mayadin in the southern countryside of Deir Ezzor. They were allegedly stored in tunnels dug beneath the town’s historic citadel.

Meanwhile, the Ain al-Furat Network said that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has shut its shared radio frequencies with the Syrian regime forces in the areas of the eastern countryside of Homs.

The forces only kept a single frequency for emergency purposes.

The network’s correspondent quoted a private military source as saying that the decision came at the request of the IRGC leadership at the T-4 military airport, east of Homs, without providing any further explanation.

The military source said there were seven open frequencies between the Syrian regime forces and the IRGC, including five for military purposes, one logistical, and one medical.

The Russian forces communicate with the Revolutionary Guards through the joint emergency frequency with the Syrian regime.

The relationship between the regime and the Iranian militias is witnessing tensions. Activists said "Hajj Askar," the official in charge of the pro-Iranian militias in al-Bukamal, east of Deir Ezzor, has refused to open halls for the regime forces so they can carry out the settlement agreements set to take effect on Monday.

Instead, the regime set up tents at the entrance of Deir Ezzor to handle the settlement, according to the Observatory.

Last month, over 1,000 people agreed to the settlement in the Reconciliation Center in al-Mayadin.

According to human rights sources, 1,050 persons, most of whom are former members of the opposition factions and defectors from the regime forces, arms dealers, and wanted persons on terrorism charges from different areas of the Deir Ezzor countryside, agreed to the settlement in the center inaugurated by the Syrian intelligence last month.



Kurdish Leaderships Reveal Details of Plan to Merge with Syrian Army

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi. (Reuters)
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi. (Reuters)
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Kurdish Leaderships Reveal Details of Plan to Merge with Syrian Army

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi. (Reuters)
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi. (Reuters)

Sources close to the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the group’s decision to merge its military and security bodies with those of the Kurdish Autonomous Administration is a serious step toward talks with Damascus.

The move, announced late Monday, aims to integrate the SDF into the Syrian army.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi invited Syrian interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to visit SDF-held areas in northeastern Syria, congratulating him on leading the country’s transition.

The SDF had published the minutes of a three-way meeting that included Abdi along with leaders from the group’s political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council, and the executive administration of the Autonomous Administration.

The meeting resulted in an agreement to merge the SDF’s military and security institutions with the security bodies of the Autonomous Administration under the Syrian army’s structure.

It also approved the reactivation of state-run civil and service institutions in northeastern Syria and the withdrawal of non-Syrian foreign fighters from SDF ranks and areas under its control as part of efforts to bolster national sovereignty and stability.

Abu Omar Al-Idlibi, a senior commander in the SDF, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting concluded with an understanding that the SDF would be integrated into Syria’s Ministry of Defense as a single unit, potentially within a corps or as part of the ministry’s eastern command.

However, he noted that discussions were still in their early stages and that oil and gas fields in northeastern Syria were not on the agenda at this stage, but could be addressed in future talks.

Al-Idlibi described the move as an effort to unify forces and strengthen national unity, while reviving state-run civil and service institutions in the northeast to improve public services and living conditions.

The meeting emphasized the need to boost coordination with Damascus, increase dialogue on national issues, and reaffirm Syria’s territorial integrity.

Al-Idlibi said the latest decisions would support the integration of local forces into the Syrian army, bolster its defense capabilities, and facilitate the return of displaced people to their hometowns, particularly those from areas affected by Turkish military operations.