BICOM

The head of Israel’s external intelligence agency has warned that Iran and its proxies are taking over territory previously held by ISIS, in a move that could threaten Israel.

During yesterday’s security cabinet meeting, the head of Mossad, Yossi Cohen, said that “in the areas where ISIS’s presence is decreasing, Iran is working to fill the void,” by “means of Iranian forces and local militias, that are entrenching themselves in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen”.

Cohen also said that Iran “has not abandoned its aspirations to become a nuclear threshold state,” adding that “the nuclear agreement between the world powers and Iran has only intensified that trend and has strengthened Iranian aggression in the region”.

In a ceremony in Ashdod later in the day, Netanyahu echoed Cohen’s warning: “Our policy is clear: We firmly oppose the military build-up of Iran and its proxies, primarily Hezbollah, in Syria. And we will do whatever it takes to protect Israel’s security.”

Israel’s concern stems from the recent US-Russian ceasefire agreement for southern Syria that was announced on 7 July at the G20 summit in Germany. Israel is concerned about who would guarantee the arrangements in the de-escalation zones and prevent the entry of Iranian, Hezbollah or Shi’ite militia forces, and also who would monitor the cease-fire.

In related news, yesterday the Iranian Parliament voted to allocate US £200m to the country’s ballistic missile programme and US £230m to activities by the Quds brigade, the international arm of the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The vote followed fresh US sanctions in July against Iran, targeting individuals and companies involved in the Iranian ballistic missile programme.