IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Hamadani, former commander of Mohammad Rasulollah Corps for Greater Tehran, has been quoted by Fars News Agency as stating Iran has built a "second Hezbollah in Syria," meaning it now possesses a projected line of defense at both southern Lebanon and Syria.
Hamadani also confirmed Iran's role in providing training and urban warfare tactics, employed with success on the battlefields of Syria. He went on to state "Today we are fighting for and defending the interests of the Islamic Revolution in Syria, we are at war," further claiming a large number of militiamen trained and deployed for the conflict in Syria.
Fars News Agency later rescinded the story and substituted an edited version. Below is a video grab of the original report (h/t BBC Persian):
There is a tone of triumphalism beyond the usual rhetoric among senior IRGC leadership, over its tactical successes in the Syrian conflict. Recently, Armed Forces General Staff HQ Deputy IRGC Maj. Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid candidly staed Iran had modeled the NDF (militia forces allied with the Syrian government) on Iran's Basij.
Evidently, IRGC leadership is buoyed with what it regards as successful intervention in Syria, seeing for itself and allies positive implications for related conflict within the wider region.
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