Iran In Syria

Guardian UK: How Iran's shadowy role in Syria fuels paranoia and wariness - Tehran has few boots on the ground but it nevertheless plays a critical role that unnerves its allies in the Assad regime as much as its enemies

It is led by the elite Quds force of the Islamic revolutionary guards corps (IRGC) and thought to number in the hundreds. Still, dozens of its men, including at least seven senior officers, have been killed in Syria since 2012. Iran also works with Hezbollah, its close Lebanese Shia ally, and with units of Shia fighters from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. General Qassem Suleimani, the famous Quds force commander, visited the Idlib area in June amid talks of a counter-offensive against advancing anti-Assad rebels.