Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Iran and its proxy Hizbullah have been operating openly in the Golan Heights, a report said.

The Institute for National Security Studies said Teheran has decided to defy Israel and establish a presence in the Syrian portion of the Golan. In a report, the institute said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hizbullah were cooperating to transform the Golan into a launching pad for attacks on Israel.

“For the first time, the Iranians are not concealing their presence in the Golan Heights, which until now was an improbable scenario,” the report, titled “The Attack in the Golan Heights: Is an Israel-‘Axis’ Conflict Expected?” said.

[On Jan. 27, two rockets fired from Syria landed in the Israeli portion of the Golan Heights. The Israeli military, which retaliated with artillery into Syria, said the rockets were deliberately fired into the Jewish state.]

The report, dated Jan. 27, said Iran sought to take over the Golan without regard to Syrian President Bashar Assad. Author Omar Einav said Iran and Hizbullah have determined that Israel was supporting Islamic rebel militias in the Golan.

“Hizbullah is permitting itself freedom of action and a high profile on the Golan Heights and is working to establish an infrastructure in the region for attacks on Israel,” the report said, “not to protect Damascus, but out of a sense of power and freedom from the need to take into account the considerations of the Assad regime, whether it backs this activity or not.”

“This is the place to design new rules of the game,” the report said.

The report was published in wake of a purported Israeli air strike that killed 13 Hizbullah and IRGC officers on Jan. 18. The casualties were said to have included IRGC-Quds Force Brig. Gen. Mohammed Ali Allahdadi and Hizbullah’scommander in the Golan, Jihad Mughniyeh.

“Apparently in the eyes of Iran and Hizbullah, the attack crossed a red line and thus demands a high price of Israel,” the report said.

The report did not provide estimates of Hizbullah’s or IRGC’s presence in the Syrian province of Quneitra, located across from the Israeli frontier. But Einav said the Hizbullah-IRGC presence was unexpected and closely monitored by Israel.

“Teheran is undoubtedly paying close attention to the question of whether Israel knew about the presence of the Iranian officer and his assistants in the convoy that was attacked and how the information affected the decision to attack,” the report said. “It appears that Israel’s leading objective, aside from peace and quiet and security, is not to allow Iran and Hizbullah to establish a foothold for control and terror infrastructures in the Golan Heights.”

  Report: Iran no longer concealing its presence in Golan Heights, WorldTribune.com