Iran withdraws some IRGC officers from Syria because of Israel

Iran is withdrawing some of the officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from Syria due to a possible Israeli retaliatory strike. The Wall Street Journal writes about this with reference to Syrian and Iranian officials.

Representatives of the Syrian security service also noted that the Lebanese pro-Iranian group Hezbollah, recognized as terrorist in the United States, the European Union and a number of other countries, has also reduced the presence of its senior members in Syria.

Mid-level officers will remain in Syria, but will change their location. Iranian troops move at night, when Israeli strikes are most likely. writes The Wall Street Journal.

Israel’s retaliatory strike is likely to be limited, the newspaper notes. Earlier, Israeli authorities assured their Arab allies that the actions of the Israel Defense Forces would not jeopardize their security.

According to The Jerusalem Post, Israel decided in response to Iran’s recent direct attack, but the exact timing has not yet been decided. Response options range from attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities to punishment of individual IRGC officials, the publication says.

• Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of drones and missiles on the night of April 14. All the shells were shot down, most of them outside Israeli territory. The strike on Israel was a response to the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1. Then two Iranian generals and five IRGC officers were killed. Tehran blamed the Israeli military for the attack on the diplomatic mission.
• Iran said it had hit all intended military targets in Israel. There is no confirmation of these reports. Many commentators note that repelling the massive strike was a success for the air defense of Israel and its allies.

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