Iran's Way of War in Syria

[WordsMatter]

ISW (Institute for Study of War):

IRAN'S NEW WAY OF WAR IN SYRIA

Iran is transforming its military to be able to conduct quasi-conventional warfare hundreds of miles from its borders. This capability, which very few states in the world have, will fundamentally alter the strategic calculus and balance of power within the Middle East. It is not a transitory phenomenon. Iranian military leaders have rotated troops from across the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Artesh, and Basij into Syria in order to expose a significant portion of its force to this kind of operation and warfare. Iran intends to continue along the path of developing a conventional force-projection capability.

Iranian military planners deployed thousands of soldiers from across its military branches over a 15-month operation to set conditions for the envelopment and eventual recapture of Aleppo City by pro-Assad forces in December 2016. They reoriented forces that had traditionally focused on defensive operations into an expeditionary force capable of conducting sustained operations abroad for the first time since the end of the Iran-Iraq War.

These developments signal a larger strategic shift on the part of Iran’s military leadership toward a more aggressive posture in the region. Iran is finding that asymmetric capabilities designed to deter the U.S. or Israel are insufficient to conduct the more conventional military operations required in Syria and elsewhere. The Iranian military is overcoming significant institutional obstacles to meet these new requirements.

The campaign for Aleppo reflects Iran’s success in applying this new approach to waging war. Iranian ground troops boosted the capabilities of Iranian-backed proxies and enabled pro-regime forces to seize and hold key terrain from opposition forces. Iranian forces successfully generated campaign plans, fought alongside local and foreign partners, took heavy casualties, and returned to the front in a sustained rotational pattern. The Iranian military also exposed its next generation of leaders to the fight, positioning them to continue evolving Iranian military doctrine and institutions along this path.

Iran’s continued evolution of its hybrid model of warfare in Syria will strengthen its capacity to project power in the Middle East. The procedures and tactics that Iranian forces have developed in Syria will facilitate Tehran’s efforts to deploy forces alongside similar proxy forces in other theaters, such as Iraq or Lebanon. Allowing Iran to consolidate its influence in Syria enables Tehran to expand and improve the capabilities of its proxies and direct them against U.S. interests and allies if it chooses.

The scope of Iranian combat operations in Syria guarantees that Iran will remain a dominant player on the ground, regardless of any shifts in Russia’s official position on Iranian involvement. Russia has outsourced the ground campaign to Iran and would not be willing to commit the many thousands of Russian troops required to replace Iranian troops or Iranian-backed proxies in the conflict. Most importantly, it signals that Iran’s leaders have decided for the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic to focus on developing a conventional force projection capability that can seriously challenge the armed forces of its neighbors. The balance of power in the region may be forever altered by that decision.

 

[WordsMatter]

Another paper by ISW:

HOW IRAN IS LEARNING FROM RUSSIA IN SYRIA

By: Paul Bucala and Genevieve Casagrande

Iranian military cooperation with Russia in Syria is dramatically increasing Tehran’s ability to plan and conduct complex conventional operations. Iranians are learning by seeing and by doing, and are consciously trying to capture lessons-learned in Syria for use throughout their military and para-military forces. Iran is fielding a conventional force capability to complement and in some cases supplant its reliance on asymmetric means of combat. Russia is assisting Iran’s military leadership conduct this effort. It is introducing Iran and its proxies to signature Russian campaign-design concepts such as cauldron battles, multiple simultaneous and successive operations, and frontal aviation in Syria. These concepts are the fruit of almost a century of advanced Soviet and Russian thought and hard-won experience in conventional military operations. This knowledge-transfer can help the Iranian military advance its understanding of conventional war far more rapidly than it might otherwise be able to do. It can help Iran become a formidable conventional military power in the Middle East in relatively short order, permanently changing the balance of power and the security environment in the region.

The Iranian military is using the Syrian conflict as a learning environment for its forces. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s Imam Hossein University (IHU), which is home to the IRGC’s advanced military education programs, has deployed students to Syria almost certainly as part of an internal study and educational program for Iranian officers. Iranian officers recognize the benefits of experiencing Russian military operations. One Iranian major general, for example, praised Russia’s use of the Shahid Nojeh Air Base in Iran’s Hamedan province for exposing Iranian Air Force personnel to “[Russian] planes and the way they were operated.” Iran has also recently conducted exercises specifically to capture and practice lessons learned from Syria.

Conventional Military Planning

Close cooperation between Russian and Iranian military personnel at the operational and tactical levels enables this knowledge transfer between the two militaries. Senior Russian and Iranian officers engaged in operational planning are in frequent contact in joint operations rooms. On the ground, at least some Russian special forces cooperate closely within Iranian-backed proxy forces, such asLebanese Hezbollah, likely putting them in close contact with IRGC officers who also partner with, and in some cases command, those forces. Iranian troops are probably supporting targeting for Russian air strikes, although Iranian forces are likely not serving as forward air controllers for Russian aircraft. Moreover, the Russian-Iranian security axis in Syria is able to coordinate efforts across multiple fronts. Russia will surge airstrikes in northern Syria so that Iran and the Syrian regime can focus their own efforts near the capital, for example.

Iran and its local proxy forces including Hezbollah and Iraqi Shia militias demonstrated their ability to use signature Russian doctrinal approaches in their successful campaign against the opposition in Aleppo City with support from Russian airstrikes and advisors. Pro-regime forces supported by Hezbollah, Afghan, and Iraqi Shi’a militia fighters led by regular IRGC Ground Forces and Quds Force operatives began launching simultaneous and successive operations against opposition-held districts in and around Aleppo City beginning as early as October 2015. Pro-regime and Iranian-backed forces continued to use simultaneous and successive operations to envelop opposition-held Aleppo City and tighten their siege throughout late 2016. Iran and pro-regime forces had not demonstrated the capability to conduct operations of this type on the Syrian battlefield prior to the Russian intervention in September 2015.

Iran, Russia, and the Syrian regime recaptured Aleppo City from the opposition as the result of a three-phased campaign plan to siege and collapse opposition-held districts of the city that demonstrated Russian campaign design. Pro-regime forces supported by Russia and Iran first severed the opposition-held ground line of communication north of Aleppo City on February 3 and subsequently completed the siege by severing the final opposition-held ground line of communication northwest of Aleppo City on July 28. Russia, Iran, and the Syrian regime collapsed the opposition-held pocket through an aggressive air and ground campaign in Aleppo City, forcing the surrender and full withdrawal of the opposition on December 13 and 22 respectively. This type of envelopment is a signature of Russian cauldron battles seen in operations in eastern Ukraine, and was not employed at this scale in Syria prior to the Russian intervention in September 2015.

Russia has also introduced Iran to frontal aviation (the use of strike aircraft assigned to ground forces to provide a mix of close air support and battlefield air interdiction operations that are hallmarks of Soviet operational art). Russia regularly conducts airstrikes against multiple opposition frontlines to fix opposition forces along multiple axes and hinder the movement of reinforcements, facilitating advances by pro-regime forces supported by Iran and Iranian proxy forces. Iranian-backed fighters are probably directly engaged in supporting Russian airstrikes by supplying intelligence to Russian forces, possibly in cooperation to Russian Special Forces active on the ground in Syria. Iranian forces enabled pro-regime forces on the ground to exploit Russian airpower over the course of the 15-month campaign to recapture Aleppo, particularly during the February operation to relieve the siege of Nubl and al Zahra north of Aleppo. Iranian forces suffered over 50 casualties during the first half of February, the majority of which likely participated in this operation.

Conventional Capabilities

Iranian military planners have probably learned from the success of the Russian air campaign to prioritize the development of a close air support capability that would allow Iran to replicate the effects of Russian air support with proxy forces in other theaters. Iranian military planners are more than willing to use Russian airpower to enable pro-regime gains, but they would almost certainly prefer to possess such a capability themselves. The IRGC Ground Forces created a new air assault unit in late February 2016, possibly influenced by observing Russian Special Forces operations around Aleppo earlier that year. Iran has also asked Russia to sell it an entire fleet of advanced Su-30 fighter-bombers (roughly equivalent in capability with the US F-15E Strike Eagle). Such a capability would significantly reduce Tehran’s reliance on Russian (and, in Iraq, American) fixed-wing aviation to support its ground operations.

The Syrian campaign has also allowed Iranian military officials to observe methods of integratingsurface-to-surface and surface-to-air-missile capabilities into conventional military operations. Russia has demonstrated the utility of pairing long-range missile capabilities with air defense systems in order to showcase regional power projection and constrain U.S. freedom of maneuver in the theater. This knowledge transfer is significant considering that Iranian military officials have signaled their intention to boost the conventional applications of their formidable missile arsenal. With the Russian delivery of the advanced S-300 air defense system to Iran in October 2016, Iran can now begin to deploy its increasingly-advanced ballistic missile systems with advanced air-defense systems to create an offensive-defensive strike complex similar to what the Russians have established in Syria.

Implications

The knowledge transfer between Iran and Russia presents the U.S. with a more capable Iran that remains hostile to the U.S. and its allies in the region. This transfer of Russian capabilities represents the latest high-water mark in Iran’s effort to increase its own conventional military capabilities. Iranian conventional military capabilities will continue to increase rapidly as long as Russian and Iranian forces continue to operate alongside each other in Syria simply by learning the best practices for developing, deploying, and using such forces in combat. Russia is poised to teach Iran additional methods of warfare as it prepares for the next phase of the pro-regime campaign in Syria. The expansion of Iranian maneuver and combined force capabilities will not be limited to Syria, however. Iran will likely export these capabilities to other theaters such as Iraq. The U.S. and its regional partners must recognize that the deep Russo-Iranian military cooperation in Syria is in itself a major threat to the balance of power within the Middle East.

 

[mohsen]

Another paper by ISW:

HOW IRAN IS LEARNING FROM RUSSIA IN SYRIA

By: Paul Bucala and Genevieve Casagrande

Iranian military cooperation with Russia in Syria is dramatically increasing Tehran’s ability to plan and conduct complex conventional operations. Iranians are learning by seeing and by doing, and are consciously trying to capture lessons-learned in Syria for use throughout their military and para-military forces. Iran is fielding a conventional force capability to complement and in some cases supplant its reliance on asymmetric means of combat. Russia is assisting Iran’s military leadership conduct this effort. It is introducing Iran and its proxies to signature Russian campaign-design concepts such as cauldron battles, multiple simultaneous and successive operations, and frontal aviation in Syria. These concepts are the fruit of almost a century of advanced Soviet and Russian thought and hard-won experience in conventional military operations. This knowledge-transfer can help the Iranian military advance its understanding of conventional war far more rapidly than it might otherwise be able to do. It can help Iran become a formidable conventional military power in the Middle East in relatively short order, permanently changing the balance of power and the security environment in the region.

The Iranian military is using the Syrian conflict as a learning environment for its forces. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s Imam Hossein University (IHU), which is home to the IRGC’s advanced military education programs, has deployed students to Syria almost certainly as part of an internal study and educational program for Iranian officers. Iranian officers recognize the benefits of experiencing Russian military operations. One Iranian major general, for example, praised Russia’s use of the Shahid Nojeh Air Base in Iran’s Hamedan province for exposing Iranian Air Force personnel to “[Russian] planes and the way they were operated.” Iran has also recently conducted exercises specifically to capture and practice lessons learned from Syria.

Conventional Military Planning

Close cooperation between Russian and Iranian military personnel at the operational and tactical levels enables this knowledge transfer between the two militaries. Senior Russian and Iranian officers engaged in operational planning are in frequent contact in joint operations rooms. On the ground, at least some Russian special forces cooperate closely within Iranian-backed proxy forces, such asLebanese Hezbollah, likely putting them in close contact with IRGC officers who also partner with, and in some cases command, those forces. Iranian troops are probably supporting targeting for Russian air strikes, although Iranian forces are likely not serving as forward air controllers for Russian aircraft. Moreover, the Russian-Iranian security axis in Syria is able to coordinate efforts across multiple fronts. Russia will surge airstrikes in northern Syria so that Iran and the Syrian regime can focus their own efforts near the capital, for example.

Iran and its local proxy forces including Hezbollah and Iraqi Shia militias demonstrated their ability to use signature Russian doctrinal approaches in their successful campaign against the opposition in Aleppo City with support from Russian airstrikes and advisors. Pro-regime forces supported by Hezbollah, Afghan, and Iraqi Shi’a militia fighters led by regular IRGC Ground Forces and Quds Force operatives began launching simultaneous and successive operations against opposition-held districts in and around Aleppo City beginning as early as October 2015. Pro-regime and Iranian-backed forces continued to use simultaneous and successive operations to envelop opposition-held Aleppo City and tighten their siege throughout late 2016. Iran and pro-regime forces had not demonstrated the capability to conduct operations of this type on the Syrian battlefield prior to the Russian intervention in September 2015.

Iran, Russia, and the Syrian regime recaptured Aleppo City from the opposition as the result of a three-phased campaign plan to siege and collapse opposition-held districts of the city that demonstrated Russian campaign design. Pro-regime forces supported by Russia and Iran first severed the opposition-held ground line of communication north of Aleppo City on February 3 and subsequently completed the siege by severing the final opposition-held ground line of communication northwest of Aleppo City on July 28. Russia, Iran, and the Syrian regime collapsed the opposition-held pocket through an aggressive air and ground campaign in Aleppo City, forcing the surrender and full withdrawal of the opposition on December 13 and 22 respectively. This type of envelopment is a signature of Russian cauldron battles seen in operations in eastern Ukraine, and was not employed at this scale in Syria prior to the Russian intervention in September 2015.

Russia has also introduced Iran to frontal aviation (the use of strike aircraft assigned to ground forces to provide a mix of close air support and battlefield air interdiction operations that are hallmarks of Soviet operational art). Russia regularly conducts airstrikes against multiple opposition frontlines to fix opposition forces along multiple axes and hinder the movement of reinforcements, facilitating advances by pro-regime forces supported by Iran and Iranian proxy forces. Iranian-backed fighters are probably directly engaged in supporting Russian airstrikes by supplying intelligence to Russian forces, possibly in cooperation to Russian Special Forces active on the ground in Syria. Iranian forces enabled pro-regime forces on the ground to exploit Russian airpower over the course of the 15-month campaign to recapture Aleppo, particularly during the February operation to relieve the siege of Nubl and al Zahra north of Aleppo. Iranian forces suffered over 50 casualties during the first half of February, the majority of which likely participated in this operation.

Conventional Capabilities

Iranian military planners have probably learned from the success of the Russian air campaign to prioritize the development of a close air support capability that would allow Iran to replicate the effects of Russian air support with proxy forces in other theaters. Iranian military planners are more than willing to use Russian airpower to enable pro-regime gains, but they would almost certainly prefer to possess such a capability themselves. The IRGC Ground Forces created a new air assault unit in late February 2016, possibly influenced by observing Russian Special Forces operations around Aleppo earlier that year. Iran has also asked Russia to sell it an entire fleet of advanced Su-30 fighter-bombers (roughly equivalent in capability with the US F-15E Strike Eagle). Such a capability would significantly reduce Tehran’s reliance on Russian (and, in Iraq, American) fixed-wing aviation to support its ground operations.

The Syrian campaign has also allowed Iranian military officials to observe methods of integratingsurface-to-surface and surface-to-air-missile capabilities into conventional military operations. Russia has demonstrated the utility of pairing long-range missile capabilities with air defense systems in order to showcase regional power projection and constrain U.S. freedom of maneuver in the theater. This knowledge transfer is significant considering that Iranian military officials have signaled their intention to boost the conventional applications of their formidable missile arsenal. With the Russian delivery of the advanced S-300 air defense system to Iran in October 2016, Iran can now begin to deploy its increasingly-advanced ballistic missile systems with advanced air-defense systems to create an offensive-defensive strike complex similar to what the Russians have established in Syria.

Implications

The knowledge transfer between Iran and Russia presents the U.S. with a more capable Iran that remains hostile to the U.S. and its allies in the region. This transfer of Russian capabilities represents the latest high-water mark in Iran’s effort to increase its own conventional military capabilities. Iranian conventional military capabilities will continue to increase rapidly as long as Russian and Iranian forces continue to operate alongside each other in Syria simply by learning the best practices for developing, deploying, and using such forces in combat. Russia is poised to teach Iran additional methods of warfare as it prepares for the next phase of the pro-regime campaign in Syria. The expansion of Iranian maneuver and combined force capabilities will not be limited to Syria, however. Iran will likely export these capabilities to other theaters such as Iraq. The U.S. and its regional partners must recognize that the deep Russo-Iranian military cooperation in Syria is in itself a major threat to the balance of power within the Middle East.

I think in this case, it's quite the opposite, it's Russians who are learning from Iranian on the ground. since Iran is the one who is running the ground operation and Russia's role is limited to periodically air support.

 

[IranDefence]

Well Russians don't have any operational force on the ground ... they have some supporting forces for clearing mines and these jobs

 

[Mark Pyruz]

I may in the near future offer a critique these two ISW reports.

Off the cuff, I would submit that ISW minimizes Iran's role as a ground force partner. The Syrian conflict is actually the second (albeit more forceful) time Iran has rendered resources towards a ground force partner in coordination with another power's military aviation. Previously, Iran assisted the United States with its influence over the National Alliance during Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan.

ISW stresses staged offensive operations. Really, this was effected less by newly developed operational expertise but rather by enhanced logistics and combat aviation tendered by the Russian Federation.

Underscoring all of this, were it not for regime change efforts directed against the Syrian Arab Republic, Iranian tactical and operational aptitude might have remained where it was, prior to 2011.

There's obviously quite a lot more to say on this topic...

 

[Jugger]

America is getting nervous as Iran is steam rolling its way through the middle east.
Thats why you got a statement from the white house stating that Iran is the biggest funder of terrorism a couple of days back.
In the regional power dynamics between Iran and KSA, Iran is winning as of now.

Iranians are very smart, they will use the middle east turmoil for maximum benefit.

 

[WordsMatter]

Another useful site about IRI's military capabilities and how its military is evolving:
https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/irans-growing-military-power-in-60-seconds

By Heritage Foundation:
In the Middle East, Iran continues to be the state actor most hostile to American interests. The 2017 Index assessed Iran’s behavior as “aggressive,” and its capability has increased to “gathering.” Since publication of the 2015 Index, Iran has methodically moved closer to becoming a nuclear power, successfully maneuvering to stabilize its program via the nuclear agreement negotiated with the U.S.; has continued to back Houthi rebels in Yemen in what some consider a proxy war between Iran and its Sunni Arab neighbors; has continued to exert influence in the region through its backing of the Assad regime and Hezbollah; and has further deepened its involvement in the instability of Iraq by providing direct support to Shia militias.

 

[Aramagedon]

Real democracy by devil worshipping regime of the U.S!

.
.
.


Trump [the greatest] freemason: search this on youtube

 

[ashok321]

In Afghanistan, U.S. Exits, and Iran Comes In
Iran Dominates in Iraq After U.S. ‘Handed the Country Over’