Analysis: Iran is rehabilitating terror networks near the Golan

The Alma Center publishes an analysis according to which Iran and Hezbollah are rehabilitating local terror networks in southern Syria, recruiting Druze and Sunnis with financial incentives. The operatives are intended for intelligence gathering, rocket fire, and explosive drone operations against Israel, using infrastructure remaining from the Assad era.

The Alma Center for the Study of Security Challenges on the Northern Border published an analysis according to which Iran and Hezbollah are working to rehabilitate local terror networks in southern Syria, recruiting Syrian Druze and Sunnis with financial incentives. According to the center, the activity continues despite the fall of the Assad regime and the damage to the Iranian axis in Syria. The networks were established during the Assad era and include the involvement of Syrian military and security personnel. The operatives are intended for intelligence gathering, rocket fire, operating explosive drones, and smuggling weapons toward Israel. The analysis was published following an attack on Friday against Youssef Ali al-Hassoun, a Syrian terrorist operating under the direction of the Iranian regime. The Alma Center assessed that al-Hassoun may have belonged to networks affiliated with Unit 840 of the Quds Force or Department 4000 of the Revolutionary Guards. A series of events over the past year reinforces the concern: in July 2025, local operatives activated by the Quds Force were arrested; in September 2025 and April 2026, cells preparing to launch rockets at Israel were exposed; in June, two Syrian Shia operatives were eliminated near the village of Hader; in September, Syrian security forces arrested three members of a Hezbollah cell in the Yarmouk Basin. The use of local recruits allows Tehran to operate near the border without deploying visible Iranian forces, while maintaining deniability.