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Airstrike hits Iranian convoy in southern Syria
An airstrike near a US base in southeast Syria killed at least eight military personnel, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Monday.
Four Syrians, one Iranian national and three other non-Syrian fighters were killed in the strike carried out on Saturday, the Britain-based monitor said. At least 11 people were also wounded in the attack, according to Observatory figures. “A convoy of Iranian forces and Shia militias were hit by air strikes as it drove near the Al-Tanf base,” the monitor’s head Rami Abdel Rahman said, although he said it is unknown who is responsible for the attack.
The airstrike happened as Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was in Damascus to meet with President Bashar Assad. According to a statement by the Syrian Presidential Palace, the two leaders agreed that “the fact that the West has resorted to threats and pressure on Tehran and Damascus attests to its failure to implement the plans it has proposed”.
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman told delegates at a conference yesterday that Israel continues to monitor all activity in Syria and will not limit its military capability against Iranian threats there .
Asked if those comments meant possible action against Iranian forces in Iraq, Lieberman said: “I am saying that we will contend with any Iranian threat, and it doesn’t matter from where it comes … Israel’s freedom is total. We retain this freedom of action.”
Reuters claims that Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to allies in Iraq over the last few months. The assessment is based on three Iranian officials, two Iraqi intelligence sources and two Western intelligence sources. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday he was “deeply concerned” by the reported Iranian missile transfer. “If true, this would be a gross violation of Iraqi sovereignty and of UNSCR 2231,” he said, referring to the UN Security Council resolution endorsing the 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has rejected the accusations.