The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on September 12 that over the past several months, it arrested or eliminated at least seven members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force’s Unit 840 on Syrian territory. According to the IDF, the unit was responsible for organizing attacks against Israel from Syria and had recruited many local operatives through financial incentives without disclosing its true identity.
Background
Unit 840 is a clandestine unit within the IRGC’s Quds Force tasked with planning and executing operations outside Iran, particularly against Western and Israeli targets. These actions are part of the Islamic Republic’s continued efforts to maintain its influence in Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. The IDF stated that Zeidan al-Tawil and Muhammad al-Kuryan were arrested in March and April, while Qassem Salah al-Husseini and Mohammad Shuayb, two other key operatives, were killed in airstrikes in Lebanon in July.
Analysis
These operations signify Israel’s continuing strategy to actively counter Iran’s military and proxy presence in Syria, even after the major political shifts in Damascus. The revelation that local forces were recruited via bribery suggests a decline in Iran’s ideological sway and a reliance on financial tools to advance its regional agenda. The event also highlights the Syrian transitional government’s weakness in controlling its territory fully and could enhance security coordination between Israel and local Syrian forces to prevent Iran from regaining a foothold.
Conclusion
Israel’s recent actions in Syria demonstrate its resolve to prevent the country from becoming a launchpad for attacks against it, indicating that the security competition between Iran and Israel persists in the post-Assad era.
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