https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a...port-7zt0jvcvt
Tehran eyes vital Syrian port of Latakia as gateway to Med
Iran is preparing to take control of Syria’s main commercial port, advancing its plans to secure a trade route from Tehran to the Mediterranean and establishing a significant foothold on Israel’s doorstep.
Talks began last month to transfer the container port at Latakia, 150 miles northwest of Damascus, to Iranian management from October 1, when its lease expires, according to
The Syria Report, which tracks growing Iranian and Russian commercial influence in the war-ravaged country. That would give Tehran unhindered access to the facility, which has 23 warehouses and was handling three million tonnes of cargo a year before the conflict. The port would be the Mediterranean link on an emerging trading route through the so-called Shia Muslim crescent from Iran through Iraq — where Tehran already exerts huge economic influence — and Syria.
For Israel the move could present a new security headache. Iran already wields huge military influence around Damascus, where its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) and proxy militias such as the Lebanese group Hezbollah are operational.
The Israeli air force has launched waves of strikes on warehouses close to Damascus airport to prevent Iran bringing weapons and components into the country by air. That has pushed Tehran to repeatedly request access to Syria’s ports; something that has until now been overruled by Russia, President Assad’s other big international backer and the dominant force in the coastal area around Latakia. Russia is understood to have given tacit approval last summer for Israel to strike Iranian positions around Damascus.
Iranian companies linked to the IRGC have started shipping goods through the port, suggesting that Tehran might use it as an alternative route to bring weapons into the country. That could trigger new Israeli airstrikes and exacerbate creeping tensions between Russia and Iran as they vie for influence in post-war Syria.
“Russia has no desire to see Iran close. Even though both have fought for Assad, there are differences and competitions between them,” said retired Brigadier-General Michael Herzog, former chief of staff to the Israeli minister of defence. “In the past, the Iranians have deployed close to the Russians thinking it would deter Israeli attacks. But the Russians understand why Israel is taking action against Iran, and they accept it in most cases.”
Yossi Mansharof, an expert in Iran and Shia militias at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, believes Moscow is likely to allow Israel to launch strikes on Iranian targets around Latakia if it uses the port to ship weapons. “There are always talks between Israel and Moscow, there is an open line,” he said. “I am sure that there are talks going on already to find a solution to this. So long as it serves Russian interests, they will give Israel the green light again.”........