Illustrative image. (U.S. Air Force)
The United States military may have dropped special forces in Iran, or retrieved them from the Islamic Republic, using an air base in Syria as a stop, videos that surfaced online in recent days suggest.
One video from October 2 shows an MC-130-series special-mission aircraft of the U.S. Air Force landing in Mezzeh Air Base, located right to the southwest of the Syrian capital, Damascus. The flight was unprecedented in every way. The Americans were never before documented landing in the air base, which is controlled by the country’s Islamist-led Interim Government.
The aircraft was most likely the MC-130J Commando II version. Notably, it was equipped with its two helicopter-air refueling pods. Aircraft of this type are mainly operated by the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command.
Based on the C-130 Hercules transport, the MC-130s’ missions are the infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of special operations forces, and the air refueling of special operations helicopter and tilt-rotor aircraft.
Activists who shared the video of the MC-130 landing in Mezzeh said that the aircraft stayed on the ground for 30 minutes or even less. They also reported seeing at least four U.S. helicopters flying over the air base as the aircraft was landing, although these were not captured in the footage.
Just a day earlier, two UH-60-series helicopters were filmed flying on an unusual path over the governorate of al-Suwayda, to the southeast of Damascus, in direction of the country’s border with Iraq.
While the activists who shared the footage of the Black Hawks identified them as Israelis, the dark green color scheme suggests that the helicopters are in fact American. It’s worth noting that the helicopters also appeared to be equipped with external fuel tanks.
The MC-130 that landed in Mezzeh was almost certainly on its way back from a special mission, involving the refueling of helicopters. It may have landed near Damascus as a result of an emergency, or simply to refuel. Refueling an aircraft of this type could take as little as ten minutes.
The U.S. military has access to air bases in Israel and Jordan. It also maintains multiple airstrips in northern and eastern Syria, in addition to several airfields in western and northern Iraq. Thus, aerial refueling is not needed for any flight between these counties.
Taking everything into account, it is highly likely that the MC-130 that landed in Mezzeh and the helicopters with it were on their way back from a special operation in Iran. Only a secret flight into the Islamic Republic would require using such special-mission aircraft for aerial refueling.
The helicopters refueled by the MC-130 may have dropped special forces somewhere deep in Iran, or retrieved them from there.
During its 12-day war with Iran last June, Israel deployed its special forces inside the Islamic Republic to target air defenses and ballistic missiles. It was reported that Israeli helicopters with the operatives made their way to Iranian territories through Syria after getting refueled by KC-130 tankers, which are also based on the C-130. Footage showing the tankers flying on a low altitude over al-Suwayda even surfaced online at the time.
It’s worth noting here that Mezzeh air base is linked to a road leading to the occupied Golan Heights, which is now partly controlled by the Israeli military.
If the U.S. aircraft were indeed on their way back from a secret flight over Iran, it is highly possible that the special forces they dropped or picked up were not only Americans, but also Israeli.
Iranian air defenses were badly hit during the 12-day war, especially in the western part of the country and around the capital, Tehran. Even three months after the end of the war, it is very likely that air defense gaps that can be used for infiltrations still exist in the Islamic Republic.
The recent suspicious military movements in Syria came as tensions between Iran and the U.S. are once again building up. Earlier in the week, a mass deployment of aerial refueling tankers by the U.S. Air Force between Europe and the Middle East was reported. The U.S. Navy’s largest aircraft carrier also entered the Mediterranean Sea.
Syria and Israel are also said to be approaching a security agreement. One of Israel’s main conditions is reported to be the freedom of action in the Syrian airspace for possible future attacks on Iran.
While nothing is clear yet, there are no doubts that the U.S. and Israel are preparing something big against Iran. Syria’s role in this appears to be growing.
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going to iraq maybe. if they went to iran that would be a high-risk operation, yet nothing actually happened in iran even during the exchange of strikes, that could have been a commensurate reward for that risk
here is a typical left-extremist anti-german article i dont like. but there is one info in it which needs to be spread. large ammunition delivery via ship is to arrive from usa to israel in oct. 23th. if iran, hezbollah, lebanon itself or turkey are truely muslims and have balls they should definitely missile-bomb that ship before it arrives in ashdod israel on the above mentioned date. https://cuturl.cc/zvx
if dump and netanyahu install the shah as the head of iran, it will be traitorous russia’s fault.
doesn’t putin still regret destroying iran through his obedience to erdogan?
they aren’t destroyed and even afghanistan managed to overcome everything the us could do. the us is like birdshit and everything it does in the world gets washed away in less than 1 percent of the time the us spent trying to accomplish it
the entire axis of resistance and nagorny karabakh. the list is growing.
he didnt destroy them but he didnt help them enough to not be destroyed/ damaged.
venezuela, transnistria, gagausia, georgia, serbia, hungari, slovakia could be next.
its stupid the west is like a necromancer every friend they take out they use against you afterwards.
iran destroyed iran with acceptance of assassination and the resultant dumbocracy in action.
usa goes where it wants & does what it wants…iran is next up to be destroyed…and its “great ally” poohtin & rusha will stab them in the back!
the mullahs are shitting in their dresses!
after iran is totally destroyed it is rusha’s turn!
i’m not one of your fake accounts and i just invaded your replies
dont forget that iran cooperated with the west in the balcans and cooperated with turkey in lybia.
the biggest advantage of the west is that their enemys cant trust each other and are allways trying to get a favourable deal with the west and sell out.
multivector policy is based on selling out to the west while pretending not to.
seemingly no one has functional radars except for the internet guys…
lol, thanks for the laugh!
the next uglywwood movie: lost in iran! lmao
who knows how many points of hypocrisy and betrayal will putler score when ghassan alian’s servantes install the shah as the boss of iran?
southfront full of nafoids. lmao!
just shut down bro! you are miles away behind real russian sources! usaid money aren’t coming anymore? hahaha… you are as russian as syrsky!
without russia’s betrayal of syria, iran would not be in a danger by ghassan alian’s servants and lebanon would not be in a danger by erdogan’s gangs.
forward observers for air strikes??
bullshit article.