Middle East

Report: Iranian spy masters 'running covert war' in Syria

The NCRI claims that the Iranian headquarters play a vital role alongside Russia in supporting Assad's regime. The Iranian HQ holds intelligence, counter intelligence operations and has millions of dollars that are flown from Tehran, according to NCRI claims.

The documents could not be verified independently but were describes as "credible" by "intelligence experts," making the claim that Iran is in control of the largest fighting force in Syria. The documents also point to military bases spread throughout the war-plagued state, with cash reserves far greater than previously thought to support the Syrian regime.

If the claims are correct, the fundamentalist regime and its proxies, mainly Shi'ite paramilitary groups, are much more powerful than previously estimated, with western analysts approximating a fighting force of 16,000.