Although earlier rebuked by Khamenei in efforts to publicly send troops to Bosnia, some believe that this latest call for Iranian assistance may be an effort to legitimize a covert effort that has reportedly been ongoing for several months. Unconfirmed intelligence reports, out of Bosnia, say that Iranian fighters have been serving in the Bihac area and elsewhere in Bosnia, since last year. One purposefully unidentified counter-terrorist expert went so far as to say that Bosnia may have become the latest "training ground" for Iranian "special forces".
Basij is the Iranian name for a group of "volunteers" that served at the pleasure of the Revolutionary Guard during the Iran/Iraq war from 1980-1988. Fanatical in nature, members of Basij reportedly were involved in "human wave" attacks that were somewhat successful against fixed Iraqi positions.
The IPO is a Iranian government sponsored organization that frequently issues public statements on behalf of the Islamic Shi'ite community in Iran. The IPO is reportedly attempting to rouse Arab anger throughout the Mideast, in regard to the potential collapse of the U.N. contingent in the Moslem controlled "safe haven" of Bihac. In recent days, they have called for demonstrations against U.N. and NATO pull-backs and criticized peacekeeping efforts for having "abandoning Moslem forces" in several regions in Bosnia.
In light of the possible eminent collapse and surrender of Bihac, intelligence analysts say that Iran's only potential response may be to engage in a "guerrilla war" against Serbian forces that control many parts of the war-torn country. They say that organized Bosnian Moslem resistance may completely collapse soon, and that U.N. forces may be evacuated at any time.
Counter-terrorist analysts also say that, in light of any documented Iranian involvement in Bosnia, that the recent reversal in the American policy regarding discontinuance of the European sponsored arms embargo against Bosnia may be ill-advised. They say that they fear that any new arms and supplies that are shipped to Bosnian Moslems will eventually fall into the hands of Iran and her surrogate "volunteers", serving in that area. One expert cautioned that shipping arms to Bosnia may be "the same as shipping them to Iran". Questions remain as to if, or when, Iran will "officially" enter the war in Bosnia.
(c) Emergencynet NEWS Service, 1994
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