Iran is providing crucial equipment and technical help to Syria in its effort to track opposition forces through the Internet and other forms of electronic surveillance, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, October 9. Iran’s electronic assistance began at least a year ago as part of a broader program to sustain the regime of President Bashar Assad that included military advisers and fighters from Hizballah. Iran, which has long experience in tracking dissidents internally, has supplied surveillance and communications gear, as well as technical support in computer-network surveillance. Among the tactics in which Iran is advising the Syrians is how to gain access to Web forums and chat rooms, where they pose as opposition members to identify and track targets. Syrian agents are then dispatched to kill the rebels.