|
Trending Topics
|
If Syria Continues to Let Iranian Weapon Planes Land, It Risks Losing Damascus Airport
(JNS) Yaakov Lappin - After international media reported that Israel struck Damascus International Airport, Maj. (res.) Tal Beeri, head of the research department at the Alma Center, said: "The message is clear. So long as Iran's air corridor for smuggling weapons from Iran to Syria and Lebanon continues, the Syrian state will be seen as responsible by the attacking party. So long as Syria won't act, the airport will continue to be a target." Future attacks could include a "roof knock" - dropping empty munitions to serve as a warning - on the airport's control tower and destroying it after it is evacuated, or strikes on the airport's radars. "If the message isn't received, attacks could escalate further, to the point that serious damage is caused to the airport, and it will take more than a few days to repair," he said. "The messaging is not aimed at Iran - that is a lost cause. It is determined to continue trafficking arms to Hizbullah. It is aimed at Syria." However, Prof. Eyal Zisser, vice rector of Tel Aviv University, said, "There are many other airports in Syria. If small equipment is being smuggled, as reports in Israel have said, they could also try to smuggle them through direct flights to Beirut or overland through Iraq. I don't believe they will give up easily."