IRGC-QF commander at Syrian theater of operations

IRGC-QF Commander Maj. Gen. Soleimani depicted last week, Iraqi theater of operations

According to Business Insider:

Al-Quds al-Arabi reported that Soleimani “began his trip in Jourin, [Syria], which lies on the contact point with the opposition forces that form the Army of Conquest.”

The town, which lies a little over 40 kilometers east of Latakia, is not far from rebel lines in the Al-Ghab Plain, where regime forces have begun to bolster defense lines ahead of an expected insurgent attack.

A number of pro-regime outlets reported on Soleimani’s trip over the weekend, including pro-Hezbollah Mulkak news which said the Iranian military commander met with the Syrian army’s chief of staff as well as top field commanders and Hezbollah officials during his secret visit.

“An agreement was reached [during the meetings] that will be translated onto the [battlefield],” the outlet claimed.

Meanwhile, a defected National Defense Force militiaman told Al-Quds al-Arabi that Soleimani’s trip aimed to formalize the “entry of Iranian officers to supervise and aid the battles in coastal Syria for the first time since the outbreak of Syrian uprising.”

COMMENTARY: Media sources are focusing on Soleimani quoted by IRIB as stating "The world will be surprised by what we and the Syrian military leadership are preparing for the coming days."

Indications point to increasing IRGC direct participation in the Syrian theater of operations.