The Iranian military is building a new military base in Syria and has plans to house thousands of troops at the location, Fox News reported on Tuesday, citing multiple Western intelligence sources.
The classified Iranian project, called the Imam Ali compound, was approved by top leadership in Tehran and is being completed by the Iranian al-Quds Forces.
Using a civilian satellite company, Fox News verified the information and obtained images that show a base being constructed on the Syria-Iraq border.
Analysts at Image Sat International (ISI) who reviewed the images say that precision-guided missiles could be housed at five different newly constructed buildings that are surrounded by large dirt mounds.
The images also show, in the northwest part of the base, 10 additional storehouses with less external protection, as well as new buildings and missile storage structures.
ISI analysts say that construction could be completed over the next few months and the base would be operational shortly after, Fox News added.
According to security experts, this is the first time that the Iranian military is building a base of this scale from scratch in Syria.
Multiple reports have confirmed Iran’s construction of several military bases in Syria, including a five-storey building near Damascus International Airport which Iran uses as a military base for its mercenaries and sectarian militias fighting alongside the Assad regime in several locations in Syria.
Iran also built a military base near the Scientific Research Center in the Damascus suburb of Jamaraya and a military base in the Mount Azzan area in southern rural Aleppo as well as a military base at the al-Sein airbase.
The Iranian regime is seeking to consolidate its military presence in Syria by establishing many military bases in the country and sending militias to shore up the Assad regime in its war against the Syrian people. (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department + Al-Arabiya)
