News
Iran fired missiles from prohibited zone close to Israeli border
Iran fired missiles at Israel from an area in Syria that Russia promised Israel Iranian forces had withdrawn from, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said yesterday.
The IDF said the Iranian decision to launch a medium-range missile was made “some time ago in an attempt to attack Israel … The missile, which could have harmed civilians, was launched by Iranian forces from an area near Damascus — where we’d been promised the Iranians would not operate from — just dozens of [kilometres] from Israeli border.”
The Israeli response, which targeted munition storage sites, a site located at Damascus International Airport, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence site and an Iranian military training camp, had been coordinated with the Russians. Up to 11 pro-regime fighters were reportedly killed in the strike.
“Syria paid a heavy price for letting the Iranians use its territory for their activities,” the IDF said, adding that “during the strike, dozens of Syrian surface-to-air missiles were launched, despite clear warnings to avoid such fire. In response, several of the Syrian Armed Forces’ aerial defence batteries were targeted. Some of the Iranian targets that have been struck were located within Syrian military bases”.
Haaretz reports that eight Russian-made anti-aircraft batteries were destroyed, including the SA2, 2SA3, SA17 and SA22.
Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, the head of the Iranian air force, said after the Israeli strike: “The young people in the air force are fully ready and impatient to confront the Zionist regime and eliminate it from the Earth.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We will not ignore such acts of aggression as Iran attempts to entrench itself militarily in Syria and given explicit statements by Iran that it intends to destroy Israel, as the commander of the Iranian air force has just said. We are acting against Iran and against the Syrian forces that abet the Iranian aggression. Whoever tries to hurt us – we hurt them. Whoever threatens to destroy us will bear the full responsibility.”
Roni Daniel, military analyst on Israel’s Channel 12 news, says that both Israel and Iran are sticking to their current policy: “Iran is continuing to build on its military presence in Syria and Israel remains determined to prevent them. These approaches will lead to continued clashes that have the potential to deteriorate further into a wider conflict.”