Another great piece by @HaidHaid22: airstrikes alone on #JFS are not going to work, risk assisting them long-term.
https://goo.gl/U3Hzzl
Formal pieces of #Syria being taken by #Iran, IRGC monitoring all communications in Assad's realm. "Pushback" indeed
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mi...-idUSKBN1531TO
Iran's government and entities close to the elite Revolutionary Guards have signed major economic contracts with Syria, reaping what appear to be lucrative rewards for helping President Bashar al-Assad regain control of parts of his country from rebels.
An opposition group condemned the telecommunications and mining deals signed with Iran, Damascus's main regional ally, as "looting" of the Syrian people and the country's wealth by the "Iranian extremist militias".
Syria's economy is shrinking fast as industrial and agricultural output falls after six years of civil war, and almost two-thirds of the population lives in extreme poverty.
Five memorandums of understanding were signed during a visit by Syrian Prime Minister Emad Khamis to Tehran on Tuesday, including a license for Iran to become a mobile phone service operator in Syria, and phosphate mining contracts.
Syrian state news agency SANA quoted Khamis as saying the deals reflect the special relationship between the two nations.
"We greatly appreciate Iran's major role in combating terrorism and standing by the Syrian people in every way, politically and economically," he said.
Syria will give Iran 5,000 hectares of land for farming, and 1,000 hectares for setting up oil and gas terminals, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA. A deal was also signed on providing lands for animal husbandry.
Analysts said the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a military force that runs a powerful industrial empire in Iran, would benefit from the deals, especially on the mobile network contract. IRGC largely controls telecommunications in Iran.
"Telecoms are a very sensitive industry. It will allow Iran to closely monitor Syrian communications," said Karim Sadjadpour, senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Middle East program.
More than 1,000 soldiers deployed by the IRGC to Syria have been killed on front lines of the conflict in recent years.
Apart from military assistance, Syria is increasingly indebted to Iran financially: Tehran opened a $3.5 billion credit line in 2013, and extended it by $1 billion in 2015, which economists say has helped keep the Syrian economy afloat.
SANA quoted Iran's vice president Eshaq Jahangiri as saying Tehran was ready to "implement a new credit line between Syrian Trade Bank and Export Development Bank of Iran" to help trade.
Tehran and Damascus also signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in a phosphate mine in Syria's al-Sharqiya, according to IRNA.
Syria is among the world's largest exporters of the rock phosphate, a raw material used in the production of phosphatic fertilizers, although the war has marred its ability to mine and market its supply.
### In 2015, Islamic State militants seized al-Sharqiya mine,#one of the largest in the country, located#50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, the Syrian Observatory for Human rights monitoring group reported.#
### Syrian government forces backed by Iran's IRGC drove Islamic State out of Palmyra in March 2016 but the militants recaptured the city in December.
WAR-TORN ECONOMY
In a meeting on Wednesday with Ali Akbar Velayati, the top adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, Syrian premier Khamis called for investment in reconstruction projects in Syria, as "the infrastructure has been destroyed by war".
Tehran has already shown interest in helping Syria rebuild its roads, airports, power stations and ports - potentially benefiting the Revolutionary Guards, which own the biggest construction firms in Iran.
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But not all Syrians have welcomed what Tehran and Damascus hailed as "a new page" for economic ties.
One political opposition group called the deals "illegal and unacceptable" under any circumstances.
"These agreements represent further a blatant violation of Syria's sovereignty as they are meant to reward an occupation force in return for its involvement in shedding the Syrian people's blood and attempting to break their will," the Syrian National Coalition said in a statement on its website.
SANA reported that Tehran and Damascus aimed to sign a deal within two weeks to pave the way for investments by Iranian companies in a Syrian port, although it did not say which one.
"Iran increasingly treats Syria as one of its own provinces," Sadjadpour said. "They saved Assad from falling, and now seem to feel entitled to help themselves to the Syrian economy."
The Iranian energy minister was also quoted as saying by SANA that Tehran was ready to sign a long-term agreement with Damascus in energy sector.
Iranian firms are already involved in a series of electricity generation projects worth $660 million in Syria, according to state media in the Islamic Republic.
Iran aims to export electricity to Syria and create the biggest power network in the Islamic world by hooking up Iran's national grid with those of Iraq and Lebanon.
Another great piece by @HaidHaid22: airstrikes alone on #JFS are not going to work, risk assisting them long-term.
https://goo.gl/U3Hzzl
Rough sketch of area JFS attacks on Ahrar:
-Orange: high JFS presence
-Yellow: low JFS presence
JFS attempting to isolate moderate rebels
Incidentally, the #Assad regime is hardly shy about having de-prioritized #IS
http://henryjacksonsociety.org/2017/...slamic-state/#
Assad + #IS will fight full-force once binary
Meanwhile, some heaviest fighting actually in areas of closest co-op
http://bit.ly/1IuiXPr
"you fight and kill...to influence the deal..BUT the deal does not end".......
Assad's ultimate goal is reconquering the country; building IS up short-term helps that, though he has to fight them in some areas.
Not difficult, but every scuffle (Palmyra, Kuweris, Deir Ezzor) is taken as "proof" they're full-bore enemies *now*.
WONDER if Trump and his will to work with Assad/Putin/Iran understands this Assad/IS game and in the end he is actually then supporting IS....
Pro-#FSA & pro-#YPG sources report: #Turkey builds "military base" near #Kaljibrin.
Fighting direction of such base would be clear.
4 #US-designated terror groups openly operate in #Syria.
By fighting 2 and ignoring 2, extremism gets boosted on all sides.
Multiple Russian airstrikes this morning targeted Ma'arat al-Artiq & Hayan in north rural #Aleppo
"Shia owes you today";delivering eulogy in funeral of 2Pakistanis of #IRGC Zeinabiun brg killed in Aleppo,Syria,buried yesterday in Qom,Iran
PalmyraRev1
More
#ISIS destroyed the #Tetrapylon and part of the Roman Theater in #Palmyra
T4 area heats up as ISIL responds to SAA counter-offensive with multiple SVBIEDs and ATGM strikes.
Syria #FSA "Alaza Army" took out regime car near #Soran in northern #Hama with TOW
https://youtu.be/DlEJ75OYW04
Reports: #Germany & its Envoy to #Syria (@AndreasK1848) have secured a ceasefire/repair deal for #WadiBarada.
Bombing has now stopped.
Syria Next attempt by rebels to take Suflaniyah south of Qabbaseen/ #al_Bab from #IS
Heavy clashes continue between rebels & regime/pro-regime forces on Hazrama, Nashabiya & Mohamadiya fronts in the Marj area in E. Ghouta
All rebel groups... including Ahrar al-Sham agree to go to Astana
http://www.orient-news.net/en/news_s...Astana#…
Reports FSA Suqour al-Jabal commander Khalid al-Adel was also arrested by JFS/JAA in Kinsafra, Jabal al-Zawyia today
A day after JFS attacks Ahrar positions, Jund al-Aqsa does the same in Jabal al-Zawyia & arrests several members
Access #Turkish reinforcements to #Kaljibrin village in the countryside north of #Aleppo & start construction military base
#Step_News #SYR
Multiple Russian airstrikes this morning targeted Ma'arat al-Artiq & Hayan in north rural #Aleppo
#Russia & #Syria signed a treaty on leasing Hmeimim #airbase to Russia for 49 years (with 25 year expansion):
http://m.tvzvezda.ru/news/forces/con...edium=twitter#
Russia and Syria sign agreement for deployment of Russian Navy in vicinity of Tartus port for 49 years.
Exactly as they did with their Black Sea Fleet base and Ukraine and then they militarily annexed Crimea....
DeirEzzor: Reports about #ISIS gains at 137th Artillery Brigade.
Aleppo: Photos show the #ISIS VBIED attack with BMP against Turkish troops and #FSA near #Suflaniyah village today. #Al_Bab
Aleppo: #ISIS SVBIED has killed 5 Turkish soldiers & wounded 9 more near #Suflaniyah village northeast of #Al_Bab today.
Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 01-20-2017 at 04:24 PM.
Nothing like Turkey selling out it's own FP statements......just to have a meaningless deal with Russia..notice no additional economic help outside of a vague pipeline deal...
"We can no longer insist on a settlement without Assad. We want US to be at the table. We want them to be involved" - Turkish Deputy PM:
Heavy clashes also underway at Deir Ezzor's 137 Brigade base, with some claims of IS having breached its walls
DeirEzzor: Many fake news about the military situation in #DeirEzzor by pro-#Assad accounts today.
Trump's secretary of state Tillerson takes Putin's - not Obama's - position on Syria: separates Assad and ISIS.
http://www.businessinsider.com/tille...s-plan-2017-1#
ISIS vid from fighting in northern Syria: Destroyed Leopard 2A4s. Performance of German MBT vs ATGM rather mediocre.
Last edited by davidbfpo; 01-20-2017 at 09:46 PM.
New Satellite Imagery Shows Russian Su-24 Jets at the Hmeimim Air Base via @bellingcat
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena...mim-air-base/#
Surprise, Russia’s Anti-Aircraft Missiles in Syria Are Not as Capable as Believed
by GUY PLOPSKY at War is Boring (originally published at The National Interest): https://warisboring.com/surprise-rus...c92#.lp7zc07vc
When Moscow deployed one of its advanced S-400 surface-to-air missile system to Syria following the shoot down of a Russian Su-24 strike aircraft by a Turkish F-16 in late November 2015, both Russian and Western media sources were quick to note that the system is capable of engaging targets at ranges of up to 400 kilometers thanks to a new long-range missile known as the 40N6.
Similar assertions were made following subsequent deployments of S-400 systems to Kaliningrad and Crimea. Yet, more than a year after the deployment to Syria, there is little evidence to suggest that the 40N6 is in fact operational.
Much of the confusion on whether the 40N6 has been fielded with the S-400 system has to do with another advanced Russian SAM system — known as the S-300V4 — which Russian troops began receiving in late 2014.
In March 2015, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that a new unspecified 400 kilometer-range missile intended for use with the S-300V4 had entered service with Russia’s military, leading a number of Russian media sources to assume that the missile in question is the 40N6.
These assumptions, however, proved wrong.
The following month, a Russian defense source told Russia’s TASS news agency that a new long-range missile for the S-400 system was scheduled to complete state trails in May-June of the same year. The source further noted that “the range of the new missile is the same as that of the recently adopted missile for the S-300V4 army air defense system,” but possess superior characteristics.
Although the Defense Ministry source did not name the S-400 system’s new missile, the above statement was a clear reference to the 40N6. In fact, hints that the S-300V4 and the S-400 would utilize different missiles with similar ranges emerged following a February 2015 article in the authoritative Russian-language aerospace journal Vozdushno-Kosmicheskaya Oborona in which its authors mentioned a new long-range missile for the S-300V4 known as the 9M82MV.
According to the article, the 9M82MV was successfully tested in 2004 and 2006, and is capable of intercepting targets at up to 350 kilometers away.
Final confirmation that the 40N6 is different from the missile utilized in the S-300V4 system came in September 2016 when a representative of the Almaz-Antey Concern — the primary manufacturer of the S-300V4 — told reporters that the S-300V4 will utilize a new 400 kilometer-range missile known as the 9M82MD.
Unlike the 40N6 which is developed by the Fakel Machine-building Design Bureau, the 9M82MD is developed by the Novator Design Bureau, meaning that this missile is clearly not the 40N6.
Further evidence for the absence of the 40N6 in Russian SAM units can be found in images of S-400 systems deployed in Syria and elsewhere.
A quick online search of the S-400 system’s transporter-erector-launchers reveals images in which they are visible only in its “typical” configuration — that is with four paired missile container-launchers.
Given that the S-400’s 48N6DM/48N6E3 missiles, which have a claimed maximum operational range of 250 kilometers, occupy the entire length of the container-launcher, it is quite possible that the longer-ranged — and presumably bigger — 40N6 requires a larger container-launcher.
This means a single TEL may only be able to carry two such missiles.
Indeed, the S-300V4 system’s TELs that transport the large 200 kilometer-range 9M82M and 400 kilometer-range 9M82MD missiles are fitted with just two large container-launchers per vehicle. It is therefore not unreasonable to assume that the new missile is not yet operational.
While we watched the #inaugiration distraction, Russia & Syria signed a 50-year agreement for deployment of RU nuclear subs/ships.at Syria.
Here's the full text of the unannounced treaty that makes Syria a de facto perpetual free military base of Russia
http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Docu...pe=pdf#…
Up to 11 [nuclear] ships will be able to dock in at any time. Agreement
automatically extended for 25 further years after inital 49 term.
* RU has no-cost right to use Syrian territory for deployment of its bases
* Syrian gov't have no right of access
* Full immunity for RU
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT.....
Even if the anti Assad opposition gets into power. and Assad is thrown out...they still have to deal with Putin and Russia for 49 plus 25 years...Syria is now effectively part and parcel of the Russian sphere of influence FOREVER....
Thanks to Obama ditching 70 odd years of US ME FP and we will be thanking trump as well as he wants to eradicate IS using Russia and Assad and IRAN.....
First mission for those Russian T62Ms which were suppose to have been destroyed under OSCE agreements that Russian signed and did not hold to....
First mission of the recently incoming T-62M tank is in the perimeter of T4 airbase.
Denmark to Send Special Forces Into Syria | via @UPI
http://tinyurl.com/jswgvk5
After Syria next is Libya....
What game is Russia playing in Libya?
http://al-monitor.com/pulse/original...syria-gna.html
Last edited by davidbfpo; 01-21-2017 at 11:19 AM. Reason: Fix link
Russian Syrian Express....
ВМФ Ropucha class LSTM #Бф BF Korolev 130 returned from #Tartus #Syria , transited Bosphorus & entered Black Sea
What the heck is Turkey now up to.....first they stated that Assad must remain and now supposedly this.....
Assad media: #Turkey to withdraw from #alBab area, "allowing the SAA to liberate the town".
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article...l-bab-report/#
So it is going to be YPG/PKK, Hezbollah and IRGC?????
BUT WAIT...the US said it had a large Arab army ready to take Raqqa and al Bab....nothing about a Arab Shia army?????
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