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Israel vs. Iran in Syria

(Fathom-BICOM) Yaakov Lappin - In August, Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Amir Khatami signed an agreement in Damascus for military cooperation with his Syrian counterpart, Gen. Ali Ayoub. It was a statement that Iran has no intention of giving up its goal of turning Syria into an Iranian military fortress. Over the past 18 months, the Israel Air Force has struck 200 targets across Syria in response to Iran's expansion efforts. Some 800 missiles and bombs were reportedly used in the Israeli attacks. Israel is playing an aggressive defense, determined to keep Iran from converting Syria into an Iranian launching pad for future aggression against Israel. Long-range precise airpower and ever-improving intelligence capabilities came together to give Israel the ability of placing limitations on Iran's activities. Israel found that it could enforce its red lines against Iranian expansion, and do so without ending up in a major war. It also signaled powerful regional capabilities which contributed to deterrence against foes, and inspired Sunni moderate states that are equally threatened by Iran's activities to boost cooperation with Israel. The writer is a research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University.
2018-10-11 00:00:00
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