New York Times: Iranian support for Syria is the largest in the Middle East

The New York Times said that Syria has received the largest share of support provided by Iran to its allied groups in Middle Eastern countries, especially during the last ten years in which Syria turned into a major local and regional war arena.

According to a report by the New York Times, Iran supports more than 20 armed groups in the Middle East, directly or indirectly, whether by supplying weapons, providing military training, or providing financial aid.

Although Iran, which is suffering from sanctions, is surrounded by countries that differ from it in sectarian and linguistic sects, it has nonetheless succeeded in projecting its military power across a large area of ​​the Middle East, according to the report, which shed light on the most prominent of these groups, their roots, and the role they play in promoting Tehran’s interests in the region, led by: the Lebanese Hezbollah, the Houthi group in Yemen, the Iraqi factions, and the Hamas movement in Gaza.

The New York Times believes in its report that Iran didn’t provide any resources to regional governments more than it provided in Syria, during the war that the country has been experiencing for more than a decade.

Tehran deployed its resources on a large scale and supported the armed elements, both regular and irregular, fighting with the Syrian army.

In contrast to Lebanon, where Iran focused its efforts on a non-state armed entity, support in Syria went to “state and non-state” armed factions.

There are two proxy groups consisting of fighters recruited in Iran and completely controlled by the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and the others are local forces composed of Sunni, Shiite, Alawite, and Christian groups, according to the report.

Iran has helped support Syria in many ways, including through billions of dollars in loans, discounted oil supplies and payments to help support Syrian army forces.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard also deploys the so called Fatemiyoun Brigade and Zainabiyoun Brigade.

The factions allied with Iran in Syria work to modify, manufacture and store weapons, which Tehran then distributes to groups loyal to it throughout the region, led by Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Over the past 12 to 15 years, at Iran’s request, the Syrian army has reequipped some of its weapons facilities and turned them into production centers to modernize medium-range missiles and missiles using precision guidance systems, according to the report.