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Friday, Dec 28, 2012 6:40 PM UTC

Syrian regime using more precise Iranian missiles

U.S. officials say two short-range ballistic missiles were fired this week

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Topics: Syria, Iran, Ballistic missiles, Bashar al-Assad, Civil War,

Syrian regime using more precise Iranian missilesSmoke rises from buildings from heavy shelling in Homs, Syria, on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. (Credit: AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)

The Assad regime in Syria has begun using Iranian-made missiles according to comments from unnamed U.S. officials to CNN. CNN reported Friday:

[Assad's forces] fired at least two Iranian-made, short-range ballistic missiles in what appears to be an effort to more precisely target Syrian rebels … The Fateh A-110 missiles are more accurate than the older Scud variants that Syrian government forces have used in recent weeks.

Although these short-range missile attacks would not be able to reach the Turkish border, where NATO is sending U.S., German and Dutch Patriot missile batteries to protect, concern over ballistic missiles accounts for the beefing up of border defenses.

The Iranian government — allied with Assad — has not commented on the missiles, reported CNN. Earlier this month, when Syrian agricultural minister, Subhi Ahmad al-Abdullah, visited Tehran, Iranian officials downplayed the civil war in Syria and decried the rebels’ efforts. According to the New York Times, Iran’s vice president Mohammad-Reza Rahimi “said Iran was confident of victory for the Syrian government forces, who, he said, were engaged in ‘sporadic fights with terrorists sent by regional countries.’”

 

Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com. More Natasha Lennard.

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