Air Strikes Against Iranian Targets in Syria

Policy Brief Program

April 2023

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Strikes Against Iranian Targets in Syria:

• Since March 30, Israel has conducted four airstrikes in Syria targeting militants affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 
  • On March 30 and 31, two Syrian soldiers in Damascus were injured in separate airstrikes launched from the Golan Heights.
  • On April 2, Israel struck a Hezbollah-affiliated arms center at the Dabaa military airport in Homs, killing two IRGC officers. 
  • On April 4, a strike on Damascus killed two Syrian civilians and caused material damage. 
• These strikes come shortly after several U.S. operations in late March targeted Iran-affiliated militants. Three Syrian soldiers and 16 Iran-backed militants were killed in these operations. 
• According to the Pentagon, the U.S.’ strikes occurred in response to an Iranian attack on a coalition base near the city of Haskalah, which killed one U.S. contractor and wounded several others, causing four traumatic brain injuries.

Iranian and Syrian Response:

• On March 24 and 25, Iran-backed militants launched several retaliatory attacks on U.S. forces at the Conoco and Green Village posts in Syria, injuring three soldiers. 
  • According to U.S. military officials, this strike showed “a higher level of sophistication” than preceding attacks.
• Shortly after the April 2 airstrike, Israel brought down an “aerial tool” flying from Syria to the Golan Heights, which is believed to be a retaliatory effort from IRGC forces. 
• The Syrian government condemned Israel’s strikes, accusing the state of “push[ing] the region towards a comprehensive escalation and a new phase of instability.”
• Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanani stated that Iran “reserves the right to respond at an appropriate time and place to the terrorism of the fake Israeli regime.”

Background:

• The Israeli strikes represent the continuation of Israel’s MABAM, or “war-between-wars” military policy. 
  • Inaugurated in 2013, the policy aims to strategically strike Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies located in Syria, who have bolstered their presence since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War to support the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
  • Currently, around 900 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Syria to prevent the resurgence of ISIS and aid coalition forces, and these forces have been targeted by IRGC-linked militants.