Pages

Monday, August 3, 2020

Ammunitions Depot in Syria Backed by Iran For Attacks on Israel: Shadow War

Nadene Goldfoot
                                                                       
 Netanyahu warned Iran and Syria that Israel's policy to defend itself against "any attempt to harm our sovereignty" was "absolutely clear".   Netanyahu said Israel would oppose any attempt by Iran to entrench itself militarily in Syria.

Israel is faced with another neighbor besides Lebanon in the hands of Iran.  Syria is a state holding several ammunitions  dumpsites, even in Damascus, the capital of Syria.  "Sources said Israeli air raids struck a major Iranian-backed ammunition depot on the edge of the capital and Iranian fighters were reportedly killed."  Syrian military defectors said the strike targeted a major Iranian-run ammunitions depot in Jabal al-Mane near the town of Kiswa, where Iranian Revolutionary Guards have long been entrenched in a rugged area 15km (9.3 miles) south of the centre of Damascus. Israel has been fighting this encroachment of Iran into Syria for purposes of attacking Israel since 2011.  
                                                                       
IDF in Golan on alert

"Israel had just foiled an attack in the Golan Heights and then struck targets in Syria.  An ambush occurred along the border when 4 militants were caught placing explosives  along the border".  "Israeli forces have been on elevated alert in the north in recent weeks, and particularly over the past week, after Israel said it had thwarted a raid by a Hezbollah “terrorist squad” armed with assault rifles in a disputed area along its northern border with Lebanon". 
                                                                       
3 were killed recently in skirmishes

Then again, "Israeli defense officials claimed that it is likely that Iran, rather than Hezbollah, was behind the local cell that attempted to plant explosive devices along the border between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights Sunday night."

"Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says his country will defend itself "against any attack" after carrying out what appear to be its largest strikes on sites in Syria in decades.

An Iranian drone was found crossing the border of Syria into Israel.  

During the offensive an Israeli F-16 fighter jet was shot down by Syria air defences, crashing in northern Israel.  Its pilots ejected from the plane and were taken to hospital.  It is believed to be the first time Israel has lost a jet in combat since 2006.               
         
President Bashar Hafez al-Assad is a Syrian politician who has been the President of Syria since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and Regional Secretary of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party's branch in Syria. His father, Hafez al-Assad, was President of Syria from 1971 to 2000.  

 Tehran has sent military advisers, volunteer militias and, reportedly, hundreds of fighters from its Quds Force, the overseas arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).It is also believed to have supplied thousands of tons of weaponry and munitions to help President Bashar al-Assad's forces and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, which is fighting on Syria's side. Tehran has faced accusations that it is seeking to establish not just an arc of influence but a logistical land supply line from Iran through to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
                                                     

Hezbollah is a Lebanon-based Iranian-backed terrorist organization.  It is one of the most imminent threats facing Israel.  Hezbollah uses the Lebanese population as human shields, hiding its weapons and terrorists within civilian infrastructure.  They are against the USA and Trump, as well.  

"Israel, Netanyahu said in 2019 to Russia's President Putin, did not object to President Bashar al-Assad’s regaining control over all of Syria, a vital Russian objective, and Russia had pushed Iranian and allied Shiite forces “tens of kilometers” away from the Israeli border.  Evidently more than Hezbollah's fighters are in Syria, but Iranians themselves who are Shiites.  What has been happening since 2018 is that "Syrian forces backed by Russia and Iran are laying siege to a rebel-controlled pocket of southwestern Syria, sending hundreds of thousands of people fleeing toward Jordanian and Israeli territory."  

In an effort to deter Israel and defend their facilties, Syria and Iran signed an agreement on July 8, 2020, to expand bilateral military cooperation. Most concerning is the possibility that Iran will supply Syria with surface-to-air missile systems capable of intercepting targets as far away as 125 miles and at altitudes up to roughly 20 miles. According to UN Security Council Resolution 2231, Iran cannot transfer air defense systems to any country without the council’s permission. The question is whether any action will be taken if Iran violates the resolution. The United States also wants the resolution to be renewed before it expires on October 18, 2020.


Reference:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/syria-israel-strikes-southern-damascus-iranian-base-hit-200720204036642.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/world/middleeast/israel-syria-border.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43020830
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/12/world/middleeast/syria-israel-putin-netanyahu.html
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/syria-military-threat-to-israel

No comments:

Post a Comment