IRGC Presence in Syria and Lebanon Scrutinized

Photo Credit: AP

Lebanon’s president Michel Suleiman demanded an explanation for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s presence in the country, amid conflicting statements from Iranian officials. General Mohammed Ali Jafari, commander of the Guard, said that high level members of the elite force were in both Syria and Lebanon, but for “counsel” only, adding that there was not an active military presence. He also said that it was an “honor [to] provide the Syrian government with any kind of consultation [in order] to defend [the country] which is in the resistance circle.” However, Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi denied General Jafari’s comments during a meeting with Suleiman on September 17. In addition, a source within the Revolutionary Guards said that their presence in Syria was “fictional and absolutely untrue.”

Meanwhile, the United States and its regional allies began naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz. “The exercises are based on a hypothetical threat to mine the international strategic waterways of the Middle East, including the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement released in July. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast responded by saying, “We are very sensitive about security in the highly strategic Persian Gulf and we are watching closely.”