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→Military
===In Syria===
===In Syria===
[[Iran]] has for years sought to entrench itself militarily in Syria. It has active military bases in Syria and tenths of thousands of fighters.
[[Iran]] has for years sought to entrench itself militarily in Syria. It has active military bases in Syria and tens of thousands of fighters.
<ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-has-10-military-bases-in-syria-two-near-israel-border-analyst/ Iran has 10 military bases in Syria, two near Israel border], TOI, Feb 19, 2018.
<ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-has-10-military-bases-in-syria-two-near-israel-border-analyst/ Iran has 10 military bases in Syria, two near Israel border], TOI, Feb 19, 2018.
''Up to 20,000 fighters from various militias throughout the war-torn country have been trained by Iranian military personnel, giving Tehran its “true muscle” in Syria, according to the Monday report in The New York Times...''</ref><ref>[https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/iran-strengthens-military-presence-eastern-syria Iran Strengthens Military Presence in Eastern Syria], Voice of America, Nov 23, 2020.
''Up to 20,000 fighters from various militias throughout the war-torn country have been trained by Iranian military personnel, giving Tehran its “true muscle” in Syria, according to the Monday report in The New York Times...''</ref><ref>[https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/iran-strengthens-military-presence-eastern-syria Iran Strengthens Military Presence in Eastern Syria], Voice of America, Nov 23, 2020.
of deploying its Afghan Shi'ite Militia across the Middle East, [[IRGC]] is reportedly training Fatemiyoun Brigade<ref>[https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/the-fatemiyoun-army-irans-afghan-crusaders-in-syria/ The Fatemiyoun Army: Iran's Afghan Crusaders in Syria], ''thediplomat.com'', Apr 23, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/what-is-the-fatemiyoun-brigade-and-why-does-it-make-the-taliban-nervous/ What Is the Fatemiyoun Brigade and Why Does It Make the Taliban Nervous?], ''PBS'', Jul 20, 2021</ref> in drone use in Syria.<ref>[https://www.memri.org/reports/part-irans-ongoing-policy-deploying-its-afghan-shiite-militia-across-middle-east-irgc As Part Of Iran's Ongoing Policy Of Deploying Its Afghan Shi'ite Militia Across Middle East, IRGC Reportedly Training Fatemiyoun Brigade In Drone Use In Syria], ''Memri'', Sep 22, 2022.</ref>
of deploying its Afghan Shi'ite Militia across the Middle East, [[IRGC]] is reportedly training Fatemiyoun Brigade<ref>[https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/the-fatemiyoun-army-irans-afghan-crusaders-in-syria/ The Fatemiyoun Army: Iran's Afghan Crusaders in Syria], ''thediplomat.com'', Apr 23, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/what-is-the-fatemiyoun-brigade-and-why-does-it-make-the-taliban-nervous/ What Is the Fatemiyoun Brigade and Why Does It Make the Taliban Nervous?], ''PBS'', Jul 20, 2021</ref> in drone use in Syria.<ref>[https://www.memri.org/reports/part-irans-ongoing-policy-deploying-its-afghan-shiite-militia-across-middle-east-irgc As Part Of Iran's Ongoing Policy Of Deploying Its Afghan Shi'ite Militia Across Middle East, IRGC Reportedly Training Fatemiyoun Brigade In Drone Use In Syria], ''Memri'', Sep 22, 2022.</ref>
===Tensions===
===Underground facilities===
The Iranians had solved the [[air defense]] problem with a new [[strategy]]: underground fortifications. The US defense and intelligence structure had been sounding the alarm about their inability to overcome this "passive defense" for decades. Deeply Buried Targets, a declassified 2001 report to [[Congress]] by the [[Department of Defense]], warned:
{{Cquote|There are no easy answers to either the HDBT [Hardened Deeply Buried Target] or [[WMD]] Agent Defeat challenges, and certainly no 'silver bullets.' … Even with the current strategy and acquisition initiatives, the [[United States]] will still not be able to hold all known or suspected HDBTs at risk for destruction, especially the deep underground facilities …Defeat of most of these facilities with conventional means—in the traditional sense of physical destruction—is impossible… The [1991] [[Persian Gulf War]] and the series of conflicts in the [[Balkans]] revealed that facility protection, by hardening, concealment, and defenses, remains an effective response to the [[technology]] advantages in [[intelligence]] and [[weapon]]ry enjoyed by the United States and its allies.<ref>U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Energy, [https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB372/docs/Underground-DeeplyBuried.pdf “Report to Congress on the Defeat of Hard and Deeply Buried Targets,”] submitted pursuant to Section 1044 of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (P.L. 106-398), July 2001 (24 pp.; declassified; hosted by the National Security Archive).</ref>}}
===Missiles===
In military terms, Iran is a "near peer" adversary for the [[United States]], weaker but on home turf. Position matters. Making the enemy come to you confers "operational advantage".
In military terms, Iran is a "near peer" adversary for the [[United States]], weaker but on home turf. Position matters. Making the enemy come to you confers "operational advantage".