The Iranian Quds Force organizes, equips and finances the 50,000 Shia militia in Syria that provides the ground troops for the Russian and Iranian effort to prop up the Bashar al Assad regime, a retired senior Israeli Defense Force general said on Wednesday. Assaf Orion, a military fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said newly announced American determination to maintain a military presence in Syria until the Iranians leave is possibly overlooking the extent of Tehran’s deep roots in the seven-year-old civil war. “Our acceptance of the rules of the game,” such as missile attacks on Israel … Continue reading Panel: Tehran’s Quds Force Key to Russian, Iranian Interests in Syria