Syrian Badia turns into an arena of competition between Russia and Iran... What strategic importance?

 There has been much talk recently about sending military reinforcements to the Syrian desert under the pretext of fighting ISIS mercenaries, but it is clear from the moves that there is a struggle between the Russians and the Iranians to draw areas of influence of economic importance.

 For more than two years, ISIS mercenaries have intensified their operations and activities in the Badia, as they are now moving relatively freely, targeting oil and gas fields and sites for the Damascus government and its loyalists, and incurring losses in life and equipment, despite the intense Russian raids on the sites where they hide, and the support it provides to the forces of  the government of Damascus, but they have not yet been able to eliminate the remnants of ISIS there.

 ISIS mercenaries' sitres are spread over about 4,000 square kilometers from Jabal Abu Rajmin, northeast of Palmyra, to the Badia of Deir ez-Zor and its western countryside, in addition to its presence and movement in the Sukhna desert and north of the administrative borders of the city of As-Suwayyda.

 As part of the reinforcements sent to the area, the Damascus government forces brought in military build-up to the Syrian Badia, and the pro-Iranian Fourth Division of Damascus forces reinforced its military presence in the area, under fighting ISIS, which raised the alarm for Russia that Iran would re-expand its area in the region.  After this mobilization, reports revealed that Russia is seeking to curb the influence of Iran's  groups in Syria.

 Since the end of last December, the FD of the Damascus government - loyal to Iran - has brought military reinforcements to the city of Palmyra and its surroundings, east of Homs in the Syrian Badia, which includes military convoys consisting of tankers, soldiers and armored vehicles.

Who is the FD?

 The Fourth Division occupies a special place in the forces of the Damascus government, as it is led by Maher al-Assad, and receives unlimited Iranian support. The powers of this division are open to all Syrian lands, and the Alawites make up about 95% of its strength at the level of regular officers and soldiers.

 This division consists of four brigades, "38, 40, 41, 42", and the 555th, 666th, and 54th regiments are affiliated to it.  so that it takes the form of an integrated army.

 The number of regular members of the division, including the recruited and volunteers, is approximately 16,000, while the fourth alone possesses about 500 tanks of various models, in addition to armored vehicles for transporting supplies, infantry and the rest of the weapons attached to the "armored".

 The main reason for the strength of the Fourth Division compared to other Damascus government forces is not only the military capabilities and the influence of Maher Al-Assad. This division is the only one among the army sectors capable of requesting military supplies from any of the Damascus government divisions under a direct order from Brigadier General Ali Mahmoud or Maher Al-Assad   Without referring to the military command in the General Staff, where the commander of this division is directly linked to the Minister of Defense from an organizational point of view, and this is what makes it more powerful and authoritative. The forces of the Damascus government are in the service of this division and not the other way around, which enabled it to swallow all the military sectors.

 Russia towards curbing Iran's influence

 In conjunction with the talk about preparations for a military operation targeting the hideouts of ISIS mercenaries in the Syrian Badia by both the Damascus government and the Iranian groups loyal to it, after the Fourth Division reinforced its military presence there, it seemed that Russia was determined to take more measures that would reduce Iran’s influence, which was evident.  In a broad campaign of polarization in favor of the 8th Brigade, which is loyal to Russia, in areas considered to be Iranian influence.

 The Eighth Brigade opened an affiliation office for its ranks in the center of Palmyra city within the Baath Party headquarters near the "Badiya Intelligence Branch", with the aim of attracting the people of Palmyra and the surrounding areas and the entire eastern desert of Homs, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

 The observatory reported information about the Russians’ assignment of personalities to “provide guarantees and temptations” to the displaced people from the Palmyra region, who are currently residing in the areas controlled by the Turkish occupation, in order to return to it and belong to the Eighth Brigade.

The observatory also talked about Russia's efforts to attract recruits currently working within Iranian groups "in the context of the cold war between the Russians and the Iranians in Syria."

 Arena for competition and passage

 In the media, it is shown that all these military build-ups in the Syrian Badia are to confront ISIS, but it seems that there is a competition between Russia and Iran for influence.

 The Syrian Badia in eastern Syria on the common border with Iraq, down to the southeast in the border area with Jordan, is of exceptional importance, as that area is estimated at about 60,000 square kilometers.

 The importance of the Badia stems from the fact that it includes lands from the eastern regions of the city of As-Suwayda, Homs, and the countryside of Damascus, all the way to the south and east of the city of Deir ez-Zor, which are areas rich in oil and gas.

 The areas of the Syrian Badia are distinguished by their continuity and being located on the Syrian-Iraqi border at a length of about 700 km - except for those adjacent to the city of Hasaka, in the far north-east of Syria - specifically with the Badia of Iraq, which belongs to the majority of its area to Anbar Governorate, the important haven for ISIS mercenaries, and the beginning of ISIS’s launch, which was taken  From its contact with the Syrian borders as a starting point for its penetration into Syria, starting in mid-2014.

 This area remains the main crossing point for non-Syrian mercenaries, who flocked to Syrian territory, such as ISIS and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham mercenaries, which made the desert of strategic importance to the mercenaries.

The Syrian Badia is also characterized by a small number of its population, cities and population centers, as it is just vast areas that do not represent a burden or strategic weight from a military point of view, in addition to being a geographical and economic key to communication with Iraq and Jordan, which makes it the subject of competition between Iran and Russia.

 The Russian-Iranian rivalry has emerged since the restoration of these areas from the control of ISIS mercenaries, as Russia imposed its control over the "Al-Thawra" oil field southwest of Raqqa, whose production is currently estimated at about two thousand barrels of oil per day, after the withdrawal of the "Fatemiyoun" groups of the Iranian "Guard" from it.

 The Russians also control the "Twainan" gas field in the Tabqa area in the Raqqa countryside, which produces about 3 million cubic meters of clean gas per day, 60 tons of domestic gas, and two thousand barrels of condensate, as well as the "Jahar" field in the city of Palmyra.

 In March 2017, Russia took control of the oil fields located in the city of Palmyra, after the withdrawal of ISIS mercenaries from it, namely the fields of Al-Muhr and Jazal.

 Meanwhile, Iran has maintained its control over the phosphate mines in Palmyra countryside and the "Al-Hassian" and "Al-Hammar" oil fields in the Al-Bukamal countryside since 2017.

 Iran strengthened its control over the phosphate mines last February, after the "Iranian Guard" increased its military posts from about four to seven in the areas of "Khanifis" 60 km and "Al-Sawwana" 45 km southwest of Palmyra.

 Iran has also doubled the number of militants to more than 300 to protect the largest phosphate mines in Syria and secure the way for its phosphate production to be transferred to Iran through Iraqi territory.

 At the same time, Damascus government forces share with their allies Iran and Russia, control of the "Al-Kharata", "Taym" and "Al-Ward" fields in Deir ez-Zor, as well as the "Shaer field" located in the eastern countryside of Homs, which produces about two thousand barrels per day, in addition to gas fields  In the central region of Homs, Hama and the Syrian Badia.

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 ANHA