(Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University) Brig.-Gen. (res.) Udi Dekel - Iran and Syria recently signed an agreement to expand military and technological collaboration. A central component of the agreement is to strengthen Syria's air defense with advanced Iranian air defense systems to reduce Israeli, Turkish, and American freedom of action in Syrian airspace. If Tehran deploys batteries of advanced surface-to-air missiles operated by Iranian crews in Syrian territory, Israeli planes will be threatened from the moment they take off from airports deep within Israel. In such a scenario, it is likely that Israel will destroy the batteries during their operational deployment. The writer, former head of the IDF Strategic Planning Division, is managing director of the INSS.
2020-07-20 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive