On the Syrian Golan, unlike in Yemen, an Iranian offensive fails

The operation began with a blast. Hezbollah media and those affiliated with the Syrian regime described the military offensive that began in January as “the mother of all operations.” Reports spoke of around 3,000 soldiers, including Bashar Assad’s forces and Hezbollah fighters (they didn’t talk about the Iranian advisors taking part) working to clear the Syrian Golan Heights of opposition forces. The goal was also to secure the route from Dara’a, capital of the Huran area and nerve center of opposition activities, to Damascus.

The same month Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Al-Qods force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, toured the theater in order to run the operation from up close. Soleimani was even documented taking pictures with the fighters. The Hezbollah-affiliated al-Midian channel described the operation’s impressive military achievements, and said that at any moment, the Syrian regime along with its support forces would succeed in wiping out the central opposition stronghold in the country today, with the exception of the Islamic State.
But in reality, the achievements are minimal. After three months of fighting, the Hezbollah operation can be called a failure. Many in Israel describe it as exactly that.

Success has many fathers, but this failure is certainly no orphan: Assad, Hezbollah, and above all, Iran, can claim parentage. The same regional powerhouse racking up stunning military successes in Iraq and Yemen was stopped by paramilitary forces in southern Syria.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/on-the-syrian-golan-unlike-in-yemen-an-iranian-offensive-fails/