On Tuesday of this week, shortly before midnight, a horrific explosion was heard on a side road that leads to the "Sayida Zainab" neighborhood on the outskirts of Damascus in Syria.
A powerful side bomb was fired at the vehicle of a senior member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Colonel Daoud Jaafari.
The amount of iron balls that hit the vehicle and punctured it left no chance for Jaafari and his security guard to be saved from the assassination operation, and they were killed on the spot.
The Iranians, shocked mainly by the high-quality intelligence and the timing of the device's activation, placed the responsibility on Israel.
Jaafari was a central screw in the activity of the Iranian establishment in Syria.
In 2016, his name was publicly revealed, after he was part of a naval force of the Revolutionary Guards in the Persian Gulf, which arrested ten American soldiers aboard two patrol ships that penetrated Iranian maritime space.
The arrest created a worldwide resonance and the images were portrayed as a humiliation for the US military, although the soldiers were released after a little more than 24 hours.
The supreme leader Ali Khamenei received in a solemn ceremony the naval force of which Jaafari is also a member.
Later, Jaafari advanced through the ranks, and was designated as the senior commander of the air forces in Syria on behalf of Iran, which includes responsibility for the operation of unmanned aircraft, air defense systems, missiles and other tasks.
The senior Iranian moved more than a year ago from Iran to the neighborhood where he was killed this week in Syria, which is named after Zainab, the daughter of Ali, one of the first Muslims, from which the Shia stream in Islam split.
Inside the neighborhood there is a mosque called "Sayida Zainab", where according to the Shia belief, Zainab's grave is located.
For many years, the tomb brought Shiite pilgrims to the place even before the civil war in Syria, but during it it was badly damaged and was restored with the help of Iranian funds.
This is an expression of part of the sophisticated strategy of the former commander of the Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, who was eliminated by the Americans in 2020.
Soleimani realized more than a decade ago that in order to preserve the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, it is not enough to be satisfied with fighting, and with the transfer of fighters and equipment, there is a critical need to deepen the grip on Syrian soil.
Soleimani's main idea included integration into the old Shiite neighborhoods throughout the country, some of which were destroyed during the civil war.
The "Seyda Zainab" neighborhood was the most prominent of them, but it is not the only neighborhood that has been filled with Iranians or pro-Iranian Shias in recent years.
Thousands of Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers and soldiers settled in Syria in the last decade, a process that testifies to one of the dangerous undercurrents that are taking place in Syria and threaten not only the security of the State of Israel, but the entire region.
Hotline for the Shia community in Syria.
Sienna Zainab Mosque (photo: official website, Walla system!)
"What's better than taking in a Shia who comes from outside Syria in a neighborhood that is defined as a Shia stronghold, with a mosque, historical and important graves for the Shias, clerics and educational institutions? Another incentive for pro-Iranian Shia activists who came from Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and other countries to fight for a salary in dollars and a commitment to provide A piece of land in Iran," explained a security source.
"The 'Seyda Zainab' neighborhood was a central focus, but there were other neighborhoods in Damascus, in the Aleppo district, and in the Hama district that constituted for Shiites outside of Syria a community with a cultural-religious support."
According to security sources in Israel, the first step in the process of Iranian establishment in Syria was to fortify the defense of the Shia neighborhoods against attacks by global jihad activists and Sunni rebels who saw the Shias as "infidels".
The second phase of Soleimani's concept included the engineering reconstruction of those areas: the construction of destroyed houses and buildings, institutions and infrastructure such as bridges in a way that would serve the interests of the Revolutionary Guards.
The third stage, which was integrated into the process from the beginning, was "bringing hearts closer together", which included donations to the needy Syrians, the establishment of specialized homes, a roof, and financing of medical treatment especially during the Corona period and in the winter.
Initially for Shiites only, and then for Sunni and Druze Syrians to expand the circles of influence and active recruitment.
Three other neighborhoods received the "special treatment" of the Revolutionary Guards and became a focal point for intelligence gathering among Arab and Western policy intelligence organizations.
The "Al-Amara" neighborhood that was established around the shrine of the tomb of the youngest daughter of Imam Hossein bin Ali.
The complex was renovated with Iranian funds, and serves as a pilgrimage center for Shiites.
"Alamin" is the second neighborhood in the Iranian zip code, and is inhabited by well-known families, and is also known as the "Jewish neighborhood of Damascus".
Today, the neighborhood consists mostly of Shias, and thus the move was hailed as a success, as it led to a demographic change in the area.
The third neighborhood, named after "Mohsan Alamin Al-Amali", a Shiite sage of Lebanese origin who moved to Damascus.
The neighborhood also includes Shia mosques and an office whose role is to join people to the Shia religion.
A prominent Shia neighborhood in the Aleppo area is "Sheikh Najjar", significant parts of which were destroyed by bombings during the civil war.
According to estimates in Israel, Hezbollah and other elements subordinate to Iran use the neighborhood as a logistical rear for fighting in the area.
"If the Iranians want to establish offices in Syria - they will establish them in the Shia neighborhoods. If they want to develop more warehouses for weapons - quite clearly they will establish them in the Shia neighborhoods," explained an expert on the Syrian arena who recently retired from the IDF. "The Syrian regime does not like the process The Iranian in the Shiite centers.
They understand very well that it is not only about donations to the needy and homeless, but the process of 'stimulation' that Syria is going through under Iranian leadership, but there is not much for Assad's people to do.
This is part of the payment that Assad pays for Iranian support for his regime - there is still fighting in northern Syria and he is still busy stabilizing the regime.
Iranian support is manifested in oil and a lot of money in the most difficult moments."
The vision did not disappear.
Qassem Soleimani (Photo: Reuters)
The process of Iranian establishment in Syria did not stop at these stages, and in recent years, hundreds of Iranian officials have been stationed throughout Syria, some for a few weeks and others for a few years.
The positions range from kitchens, technicians and logisticians to engineers, scientists, Shia religious influencers, and senior commanders such as Colonel Jaafari Shechusal.
Most of them came to Syria with their families for a very long stay.
Their goal is to absorb the means of warfare from Iran in Syria, to establish military outposts and bases, and to recruit local activists and not necessarily Shiites.
The area of southern Syria with an emphasis on Daraa and the south of the Syrian Golan Heights was defined as a target for recruitment and establishment, a type of growth engine for the Iranians and Hezbollah.
An analysis by the Israeli security establishment shows that the Iranians are taking advantage of the weakness of Assad, who is portrayed as a "shock leader".
One of the security officials said that "We estimate that he understands that he is in a big problem. The situation is crazy for him. The Russians never liked the Iranians and wanted to push them out of Syria in order to make money, among other things, from the sale of oil and the restoration of the country. Until recently, the Russians were the tip of the scales against the Iranians in Syria, And suddenly not only has the situation changed, the Russians need the Iranians in Ukraine and will not dare to reduce their activity in Syria."
The expert on the Syrian arena sharpened the issue and added: "The Iranians are currently on the horse - there is no one to interfere with them in Syria. Therefore, they allow themselves to recruit Syrians of all ethnicities for military missions. This starts with returning favors for helping the family with money, continuing to intelligence gathering missions on the Syrian-Israeli border And then to more complex operations such as terrorist attacks. This is just the beginning because the Iranians are stubborn, they will not let up as long as Assad allows them."
acted in favor of the Iranians.
Madhat Salah (photo: official website, Walla system!)
The "pastoral" atmosphere of the cultural-religious process in Syria has dissipated with mysterious explosions in the Syrian Golan Heights region in recent years, and after one fatal shot in November 2021. The Al Jazeera channel reported on the same day that an Israeli sniper managed to hit Madhat Saleh from a range of more than a kilometer. A Druze born in Majdal Shams, who was in an Israeli prison. Saleh, served a long prison sentence for security offenses in favor of the Syrian regime and against the State of Israel. After his release, he crossed the border into Syria, became a member of the Syrian parliament and the holder of the Golan portfolio in the Assad government, whose purpose was to promote anti- Israeli on the border. At some point he began working with the Iranians and engaged in setting up explosive cells along the border. After his elimination, the Iranians did not give up and filled the void he left behind, and continued to recruit Syrian activists. In September of this year, four Syrians threw explosive devices towards Israeli territory and were shot by Israeli forces IDF.
In the same month, Brigadier General Roman Goffman handed over command of Division 210, which is responsible for the Syrian border, and more than hints in his speech about the realization of Soleimani's vision in Syria and the consequences on the border.
The expansion and deepening of the Shia community in southern Damascus, in Sawd'a and in some villages across the border, along with the recruitment of local people for terrorism in Quneitra and Badr, threaten to make the future of the area across the border a hostage of Iran," Gofman said without referring to the cultural-religious homeland for the Shiites that flow into Syria. He only noted that during his tenure the IDF acted against Iranian entrenchment in the region.
Therefore, the security establishment estimates that the process of "incitement" will change the face of Syria in the long term, and will become a critical threat to the security of the State of Israel.
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Kasem Soleimani