Iran’s soft power offensive in eastern Syria

Along the Iranian border in Syria’s Deir Ezzor province, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) recently purchased two homes and tracts of adjacent land for 700 million Syrian pounds (US$150,000) with the funds provided by Iran’s Hajj organization. A massive new hotel will soon be built on the spot, according to Abdulaziz Al-Sawadi, head of the Political Bureau of the Liberation and Construction Movement, to accommodate Iranian and Iraqi pilgrims.