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U.S. Secretly Reviews Israel's Plans for Strikes Against Iranian Targets in Syria
(Wall Street Journal) Michael R. Gordon - Israel secretly coordinates with the U.S. on many of the airstrikes it carries out in Syria, aimed at interrupting Tehran's flow of advanced weapons to Hizbullah and diminishing Iran's military forces and proxies in Syria. For several years, many of Israel's missions have been reviewed in advance for approval by senior officials at U.S. Central Command and at the Pentagon. The U.S. aim is to ensure that Israel's bombing raids don't interfere with the U.S.-led military campaign against Islamic State militants who have been attempting to mount a comeback. The main focus of the U.S. review are Israeli missions in eastern Syria that pass near the al-Tanf garrison, a U.S. outpost near the Syria-Jordan border. "There is tacit American support for the Israelis acting to blunt the Iranians' efforts to spread weapons around and build their leverage throughout the region. But there has also been a consistent hesitancy about wanting any fingerprints on this," said Dennis Ross, a former U.S. Middle East peace envoy.