(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs-2June2014) Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira - Iran views Syria (with or without Assad) as its principal arena of conflict with the West and with "heretic Sunni Islam" (under the leadership of Saudi Arabia). The Iranian Jomhouri Eslami newspaper stated: "The establishment of Syria's Hizbullah...will also be a strong arm of the resistance that will cause nightmares for the Zionists. The Zionist regime that was concerned about threats from the Lebanese borders, now should prepare itself for a new situation (on the Golan Heights front)." Iran's defense posture is designed to distance the Iranian homeland from any threat, to conduct the campaign against Israel and the West in areas distant from Iran, and to use Syrian and Lebanese territory to deter Israel or retaliate if its nuclear installations are attacked. In the buds of "Hizbullah Syria" lay the infrastructure for enhanced Iranian subversion in the Golan Heights, which is perceived by Iran as a new and extended confrontation line with Israel. The writer, a senior research associate at the Jerusalem Center, served as bureau chief to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and as military secretary to the Prime Minister.
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