Israeli military outpost and heavily patrolled border fence near the now-shuttered Queneitra crossing point with Syria in the Golan Heights. A new report notes the direct presence of Iranian forces in Syria, particularly on the Golan Heights. Photo: Dave Bender

JNS.org – Iran has a direct military presence along Israel’s northern border, according to a new report by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

The authors, whose report is founded on research of Arab and Iranian media, write that in recent years, “Iran has based its deployment in Syria on the establishment of a new Hezbollah Syria organization along the lines of Hezbollah Lebanon, as well as on the direct presence of Iranian forces in Syria, particularly on the Golan Heights.”

According to the report, Iran’s deployment in Syria “reveals a trend of Iranian activity in the region that is direct, not only by proxy as it has been to date.” Iranian command posts in the Golan Heights oversee “130,000 trained Iranian Basij fighters waiting to enter Syria,” which is evident from comments by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) senior official Hossein Hamedani last May that were removed immediately after publication in Iran.

Senior Iranian officials have boasted in recent months that direct Iranian deployment in the Golan Heights creates a unified battle front against Israel spanning from Rosh Hanikra along the Mediterranean coast to Quneitra in the Golan. For example, former IRGC commander Yahya Rahim Safavi said last year, “Our strategic depth reaches to the Mediterranean, and above Israel’s head.”