Kuwaiti Daily: IRGC Qods Force Supports Maximizing Military Pressure On U.S. In Syria And Iraq To Force Political Arrangement; Hizbullah’s Nasrallah Also Ready For Comprehensive Escalation To Compel Washington ‘To Take Its Hands Off Lebanon’

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On November 1, 2023, the Kuwaiti Al-Jarida daily published an extensive review of recent events in the Middle East, against the backdrop of the expanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinian and pro-Iranian factions in the region. The daily reported that General Esmail Qaani, commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force, was personally overseeing the fighting against Israel, and that he and other commanders within the Qods Force support increasing attacks on the American bases in Iraq and in Syria, “to the maximum [extent] possible.” Their aim is to deter the U.S.  from increasing its involvement in the fighting, and to compel it to agree to a political arrangement that would include Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon. Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah is also reportedly prepared for a general escalation to force Washington “to take its hands off Lebanon.”[1]

The aftermath of an Israeli Air Force attack on the Jabaliya Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip (Source: Aljarida.com, November 1, 2023)

Quoting “a high-ranking source in the IRGC Qods Force,” Al-Jarida reported that Qaani travels between Syria, Lebanon, and Teheran to supervise the fighting against Israel. At the same time, attacks continue to be carried out against American bases in Syria and Iraq.

The daily noted that a “large operations room” has been set up in Damascus to coordinate the fighting, and added that Teheran believes that American drones and satellites are taking part in the surveillance and attacks on Hizbullah forces in South Lebanon and the pro-Iranian factions in southern Syria. According to Al-Jarida, this is why Qaani suggested increasing the attacks on the U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq. The objective is to inflict losses on the American forces and thereby deter Washington from expanding its involvement in the fighting.

Al-Jarida reported that there is disagreement in Teheran over whether or not to expand the fighting in the region. Some believe that Iran should avoid this scenario, mainly in light of the growing support for the Palestinians in the international arena, which may diminish if Iran or its allies increase their involvement in the war. A conflicting opinion, which is put forward by commanders of the Qods Force, contends that it would actually be better to escalate the situation “to the maximum [extent] possible.” Their aim, by doing so, would be “to push everyone to bring pressure to bear on Israel and to force it to make concessions,” and also to compel Washington “to delineate the boundaries of influence” in the region, primarily in Syria and in Lebanon. Qaani refers to this as “all-out war or a large peace.”

According to the Kuwaiti daily, the commanders of the Qods Force support exacting a higher price from Washington on several fronts, with the goal of forcing it to agree to a political arrangement which would include Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon. It also wrote that Nasrallah believes that the internal situation in Lebanon has become unbearable, and that Washington must be compelled “to take its hands off Lebanon and to end the economic war against it.” Therefore, he is prepared to escalate the situation, “to the highest level,” so as to force Washington to reach a political arrangement in Lebanon.

The background to this report is a series of attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and in Syria,[2] that have been perpetrated by the Iran-backed militias starting on October 17, 2023; the November 1, 2023 announcement by Akram Al-Ka’abi, Secretary-General of the Iran-backed Iraqi Shi'ite Al-Nujaba Movement militia, that the “Iraqi Islamic resistance” has decided to “militarily liberate Iraq;”[3] and increasing indications that Iran intends to expand the f fighting in the region by opening an additional front against Israel from Syria.[4]