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Iran’s IRGC reportedly relocates forces from Syria ahead of expected US strikes

The move comes after a drone strike on a US post in Jordan killed three US soldiers and wounded dozens of others in an attack blamed on Iran.

HOSSEIN BERIS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
A poster depicting Iranian adviser in Syria Razi Mousavi (R) and slain Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani (L) is seen during Mousavi's funeral ceremony at the Imam Hossein Square in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 28, 2023. — HOSSEIN BERIS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

As the spillover from the Israel-Hamas war continues to expand across the region, Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is reportedly relocating its forces in Syria, amid a spate of Israeli attacks on positions linked to the Islamic Republic and its allied militias and ahead of potential US strikes in Syria and Iraq.

Citing regional security sources close to Tehran, Reuters revealed on Thursday that Iran has pulled out dozens of senior commanders and mid-ranking officers from Syria to avoid being drawn into an all-our war in the Middle East. The US military signaled this week that it’s readying strikes against Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq and Syria following Sunday’s attack on an American base in Jordan that killed three troops.

The sources said Iran would manage operations remotely by relying more on its allied militias in the area, including the Lebanese group Hezbollah, adding that Tehran does not plan to leave Syria altogether.

The sources did not say how many officers were recalled.

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