The Israeli military launched several attacks against the Iranian forces in Syria this year, including two powerful assaults in the last ten days.
However, despite some claims that the Iranian forces are withdrawing from Syria, it appears quite the opposite, as Syrian military sources in Damascus report that the Islamic Republic is moving forward with their railroad and highway plans to link the capitals of both countries via Iraq.
According to the military sources, the Iranian government reached an agreement with their Syrian counterparts last year to build a railroad that stretches from Tehran to Damascus.
Furthermore, the highway, which is still being restored between Damascus and Baghdad, will not only provide an economic boost to the three countries, but also, it will provide Iran their much desired land bridge between their capitals.
Iran has established bases in Syria’s two largest cities, Aleppo and Damascus, and continues to maintain a presence along the M-4 and M-5 highways, which are the Arab Republic’s two largest roadways.
While the Israeli airstrikes are doing significant damage to these targeted installations, the Iranian forces have adopted a Vietnam-like approach to the destruction.
Similar to the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam’s (Viet Cong) famous Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War (1963-1975), the Iranians continue to rebuild their destroyed facilities and pathways, prompting the Israeli Air Force to have to target these sites on more than one occasion.
Hezbollah adopted this strategy in the 1990’s, when they were fighting both the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli-backed South Lebanese Army (SLA) in the southern part of Lebanon.
Despite the constant attacks against Hezbollah, the Israeli Defense Forces were unable to eliminate the decade-old group, who would continue to resurface in parts of Lebanon that the IDF had repeatedly targeted.
Hezbollah is arguably one of the most powerful forces in the region, and coupled with the emergence of Iraq’s Hashd Al-Sha’abi (Popular Mobilization Units), it is not likely that the Iranian military is going to abandon their plans to complete this land bridge.
Source » almasdarnews