Israeli military intelligence chief says Iran hopes to prolong the life of the
Assad regime and maintain influence after his fall.
Major-General Aviv Kochavi said Iran intended to double the size of
this Syrian "people's army", which he claimed was being trained by
Hezbollah fighters and funded by Tehran, to bolster a depleted and
demoralised Syrian army, the Guardian writes.
"They support Assad operationally on the ground, with strategic
consultation, intelligence, weapons," the Guardian quotes the
intelligence chief. "Most recently, they are establishing a 'people's
army' trained by Hezbollah and financed by Iran, currently consisting
of 50,000 men, with plans to increase to 100,000. Iran and Hezbollah
are also preparing for the day after Assad's fall, when they will use
this army to protect their assets and interests in Syria."
"Hezbollah will give a house to a fighter in a village. It will be a
three-storey house and one storey is for the storage of missiles," the
IDF official said, quoted by the Guardian. "In a future war, we would
have to bomb and to send troops into the village. Unfortunately, it is
not getting to be surgical. We will do everything we can to evacuate
the area of civilians, but I think it's going to be ugly."
