Sputnik News- According to the report by Fox News, Iran has established a permanent military base in Syria, where there are special hangars, designed to store missiles. Two specialists in the know have explained why this report holds no water and why it is needed.
The report, based onsources fromWestern intelligence services suggest that the facility is located 12 kilometers tothe north-west ofSyrias capital, Damascus, and is allegedly controlled bythe Quds special forces unit ofIrans Revolutionary Guards (IRG).
Fox News noted that its journalists had obtained satellite images showing two hangars of500 square meters each, and they were allegedly being used tostore intermediate-range and short-range missiles. The broadcaster proceeded tosay that those weapons were capable ofreaching any point inIsrael.
However, the Fox News report turned outtobe fiction, asa source fromIrans Defense Ministry familiar withthe case told Sputnik.
Iran does not have military bases outsideits territory, and its presence inSyria is limited toproviding military advice; establishing a military base outsideIrans borders requires an official and public approval ofthe government ofthis or that country, inparticular Syria, the source said.
According tothe report byFox News, last year another Iranian base was detected tothe south ofDamascus bysatellites. The base was allegedly destroyed byan Israeli missile attack. An Iranian military official denied these allegations several weeks ago.
It appears that Fox News has launched another batch offake horror stories aboutIran.
The Aim ofFake News
Political observer and expert onMiddle East atthe Center ofWorld Research atTehrans University, Emad Abshenas, told Sputnik the reasons forthe recent wave ofdisinformation bythe United States concerning Irans presence inSyria.
Iran doesnt have military bases inSyria, and if atany point Tehran establishes a base there, it will be an open move, and only onofficial permission ofthe Syrian government inthe framework ofa signed agreement, which wont be a secret. Besides, the IRG are not asshort-sighted todeploy a base somewhere where journalists or informants ofFox News can easily detect it.
Abshenas added that the United States needed such horror stories to justify their illegal presence inSyria underthe guise ofprotection ofits interests and those ofIsrael froman alleged Iranian military presence.
According tothe expert, Washington is using this toexplain why Israel invaded Syria and conducted airstrikes there.
The US decrees toits own media tooverblow a story aroundthe military operation inSyrias Afrin, the alleged use ofchemical weapons bySyrian government forces inEastern Ghouta, displaying terrorists asvictims ofAssads bloody army.
The observer concluded that the United States could not accept its failure inSyria overthe victories bythe Iran-Russia-Syria coalition inthe fight againstterrorists, therefore Washington attempts tocause harm byall means.
While Russia, Iran and Turkey have been working together tofacilitate the possible transition toa political settlement inSyria and restore peace and stability inthe war-torn country, the US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes againstwhat it deems asDaesh targets inSyria withoutany authorization fromthe Damascus government or a UN mandate since2014. Syria, forits part, considers the coalitions presence a violation ofthe countrys national sovereignty.