IRGC training Hezbollah to use shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles in Syria; Iran executions see “alarming rise” in 2021

DARAMSUQ / TEHRAN — According to recent reports, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is continuing its training of members of Hezbollah and Al-Nujaba in the use of shoulder-fired missiles in Syrian territory.

The training is reportedly taking place in the Rusafa desert in the countryside of Raqqa given the state of alert taken by the Syrian regime forces in the area. This would be the second such training in six months.

The training includes preparing missiles for targeting aircraft and how to launch them. The training is being conducted under the supervision of Iraqi national members of the IRGC.

In related news, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and France’s Together Against the Death Penalty (Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort, ECPM) published their 14th annual report on increased executions in Iran.

The two NGOs stated that at least 333 people were executed in Iran in 2021, expressing alarm over a surge in the numbers executed for drug offences and also the hanging of at least 17 young women.