I blogged in April that while everyone talks about Russia, Syria, and America, the real story about Syria concerned Iran and Israel.
It looks like that has finally come to the forefront early Thursday morning local time after Iran attacked Israel from Syria and Israel responded with its own fire power.
Israel claimed that Iranian forces within Syria fired rockets into Israel-controlled Golan Heights. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus confirmed that the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted “several of the rockets” and did not know about any casualties or damage.
From The New York Times:
The Israeli military said in a statement that it “views this event with great severity and remains prepared for a wide variety of scenarios.” The Syrian state news agency reported that the country’s air defenses responded to at least two waves of Israeli missile attacks after the strike against the Israeli positions.Israel and Iran have been conducting a shadow war in Syria under the cover of that country’s civil war. As Iran has tried to build up its military capabilities inside Syria, Israel has carried out scores of strikes against what it says are advanced weapons and convoys destined for its enemies in the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and he reiterated Israel’s right to protect itself:
“I presented Israel’s obligation and right to defend itself against Iranian aggression, from Syrian territory,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement. “The Iranians declare their intention to attack us. They are trying to transfer forces and deadly weapons there with the explicit goal of attacking the state of Israel as part of their strategy to destroy the state of Israel.”
Russia is basically Syria’s and Iran’s only strong ally.
Well, Israel struck back at Iranian targets in southern and central Syria. The military “focused on sites related to logistics, intelligence and ammunition storage.” From the BBC:
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman reminded Iran “that if it rains here [in Israel], it will pour there.” He told the media that the IDF “hit almost all of the Iranian infrastructure in Syria.”
No confirmed reports of casualties in Syria has come out.
Netanyahu has claimed “that the Revolutionary Guard had moved advanced weapons to Syria, including ground-to-ground missiles, weaponized drones and Iranian antiaircraft batteries that he said would threaten Israel’s military jets.” This has led Israel to warn Iran that the country “would respond to any attack.”
Netanyahu also informed Russia about the attack before it happened.
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