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Source: https://www.thecairoreview.com/tahrir-forum/battling-for-southwestern-syria/
Iran Has Cultivated Militias in Southern Syria to Act Against Israel
(Cairo Review of Global Affairs-American University in Cairo) Abdulrahman Al-Masri - The Assad regime intends to retake control of southwestern Syria. The powers involved in the southern ceasefire zone may agree to let the Assad regime retake the region, as long as Iranian withdrawal is assured in exchange. Yet this is unlikely to produce long-term stability. Iran's current strategy has been to localize its presence in the southwest through local militias. Iran has been busy in the last two years building and training local groups. Iran's investment in these groups denotes its real approach: these groups are loyal to their patron, and they can be mobilized to open a new "resistance" front against Israel at Tehran's behest. As Israel vows to attack Iran in other parts of Syria, Iran's local clients in the southwest will likely engage in small-scale retaliations against Israel.