Quds forces and Iranian-Israeli hostility

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Context

• Israeli war jets attacked an Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria, killing at least 13 people – including General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who was a senior leader of the Iranian Quds Force.

Who are the Quds Force?

• The Quds Force is the paramilitary and intelligence wing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG). The IRCG was set up by the leader of the Islamic Revolution and Iran’s first Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1979.
• After the 1979 Islamic Revolution dislodged the ruling Shah from power, a theocratic state was established in Iran. For its protection, the IRCG was created to deal with both domestic and external threats.
• IRCG has an army, naval, and air force wings, and its total membership numbers are around 125,000. Another branch, the Basij paramilitary force, “claims it can mobilize some six hundred thousand volunteers.

What is Israel’s problem with the Quds Force?

• Tehran has mobilized Quds Force units across the Middle East to secure its interests beyond Iranian borders.
• The Quds Force has a significant presence in Syria, and Iran is said to operate dozens of military bases around the country.
• The Quds Forces actively intervene in the Syrian war, fighting against ISIS on the side of Syrian government forces, and working with the Russians to keep President Bashar al-Assad in power in the face of strong US opposition to his regime. Damascus and Tehran are close strategic allies.

Israel- Iran Issues

• Israel’s strong alliance with the US increases the insecurity of Iran as there is unwanted Western interference in the Middle East, by the US which poses a direct threat to its security and interests.
• Iran has been under various degrees of US sanctions since the Revolution of 1979. the United States and other countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions to censure Iran and prevent its further progress in prohibited nuclear activities, as well as to persuade Tehran to address the international community's concerns about its nuclear program.
• Iran does not recognize the legitimacy of Israel, and the two countries have been openly hostile to each other since the early 1990s.
• Each has engineered proxy conflicts and covert operations against the other. Both countries have been involved in proxy wars in Syria, Yemen, etc. Both control proxy organizations that are involved in the various ethnic and religion-based conflicts in the region.
• Israel considers the Iranian nuclear program an existential threat. Operational since September 2011, the Bushehr I reactor marked Iran's entry into nuclear power with Russia's assistance. This became an important milestone for Rosatom to become the largest player in the world nuclear power market.
• Israel is widely suspected of having carried out targeted assassinations of important Iranian figures, including nuclear scientists, and cyber attacks against the country.
• Being a predominantly Shiite Muslim country in a region where Sunni Saudi Arabia is also a large, resource-rich, and influential nation, the two countries have been geopolitical rivals for a long.

Sources:

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/quds-force-israel-killed-iranian-generals-syria-attack-9250654/

Practice Question The conflict in the Middle East is continuing and it has even increased in recent years. To what extent the escalation and conflict in the Middle East could be attributed to the meddling of Western powers, especially the US? Critically analyze.