(Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University) Yaakov Lappin - Long before the U.S. began its policy of maximum economic pressure on Iran, Israel had been applying its own policy of maximum prevention in Syria. Media reports describe a widespread wave of Israeli strikes on Iranian axis targets across Syria, hitting Iranian and Hizbullah weapons sites as well as development, storage, and transfer facilities, some embedded in Syrian regime military bases. Using advanced intelligence coupled with precision firepower, Israel has prioritized the objective of disrupting the construction of an Iranian war machine in Syria. Israel has also acted to prevent Iran from using Syria as a transit and production zone for advanced weapons, such as guided missiles, for the benefit of Hizbullah in Lebanon. This effort involves tracking flights, weapons factories, suspicious ground convoys, and an array of Iranian weapons production and smuggling activities throughout the Middle East. The reports of Israeli strikes represent the tip of a very large iceberg. For every reported preventive action by Israel, there are many more that go unreported. Israel is determined not to allow Iran to build offensive drone bases, missile factories, and proxy terror networks in Syria. The writer is a research associate at the BESA Center.
2019-08-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive