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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Irans-traction-Syria-a-greater-threat-to-Israel-than-ISIS-485663
Steinitz: Iran Gaining Traction in Syria
(Jerusalem Post) Sharon Udasin - Iran is quietly gaining traction in Syria - posing a direct threat to Israel, eastern Mediterranean countries and the entire Arabian Peninsula, National Infrastructure Minister Yuval Steinitz told the Jerusalem Post. "The most immediate and urgent threat is the Iranian plan to transform Syria...into some kind of extension of Iran." While Tehran has long been active near Israel through proxies such as Hamas and Hizbullah, he warned that the Islamic Republic may be building a more direct presence in the neighborhood as Syria continues to crumble. "The label will still be called Syria, but it will become some kind of extension of Iran....Syria will also become an Iranian military base." Iran could eventually establish an air force and naval presence there, as well as an arsenal of ballistic missiles - a "very dangerous development." "We don't want to have a direct military border with Iran itself. Of course it's a big, big threat also to Jordan and all the Arab Peninsula....Therefore, it's high time for the international community, in general, and for the two superpowers, the U.S. and Russia, in particular, to sit together and prevent this scenario."