[Free Beacon] Tehran has begun redeploying its military assets in Syria toward the Iraqi border.Israel's campaign of airstrikes against Iranian military targets in Syria has led Iran to move the bulk of its soldiers and bases away from the Israeli border, according to intelligence assessments by the Israeli military released Wednesday. While some pro-Iranian forces remain in southern Syria on the border with Israel, Iran is redeploying most of its assets to eastern Syria and Iraq.
Iran's actions should not be construed as Tehran giving up its efforts to entrench itself in Syria to open up another front to attack Israel. In fact, the intelligence assessments say that Iran appears to be adopting a more aggressive posture toward the Jewish state‐last month, for example, Iranian forces launched a missile at the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Iran is simply changing its methods for achieving the same vision, the Israel Defense Forces believes.
Iran now seeks to entrench itself in Iraq, setting up missile launchers there to threaten Israel. Reuters reported last year that Iran had also given ballistic missiles to Shi'ite proxies in Iraq and that it is developing the capacity to build more there with the ranges to threaten both Israel and Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, Iranian-backed militias are expected to base themselves in western Iraq, awaiting orders to cross the border into Syria to target the Jewish state. Parts of Iran's elite Quds Force also appear to be leaving Syria to enter Iraq.