The Islamic Republic is allegedly forming a new regional force called the “Qassem Soleimani Forces”, named for the assassinated chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force.
The new regional force reportedly has a structure similar to the IRGC and includes Iran’s proxy groups in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria, the UAE-based Al-Ain News reported citing regional sources.
Iran has not issued any official comment or confirmation about the new force, which is to have a structure similar to that of the IRGC, according to the report.
Yemeni sources quoted in the report said members of the new force “are receiving training in camps in Iraq and Iran.”
The force is seen as “a central military arm of the so-called Axis of Resistance led by Iran, in an attempt by Tehran to protect its presence and influence in the region, and to be able to withstand any further pressure.”
About 20 percent of the first 10,000 members of the new group are to be Houthis in Yemen. Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, is to play a direct role in the group’s management and organizational levels, according to the report.
