According to assessments by the U.S. intelligence community, it judged with high confidence that chemical weapons were used by Assad on numerous occasions against the opposition, further amplifying the threat to the region and our national security interests. Tehran has provided Assad billions of dollars in direct funds, and recently extended an additional four billion dollar line of credit to help fund his brutal campaign against the opposition. Iran has sent military advisers and personnel to help Assad. Members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have been sent to advise and fight alongside Assad’s forces, as well as to help recruit external forces to come to the aid of the regime – including a large number of Iraqi Shiite militants, and of course, its proxy, Hezbollah.