Israel has declared that it is still carrying out airstrikes against Assad regime and Iranian targets inside Syria, despite tension with Moscow since a Russian surveillance plane was accidentally downed in mid-September.

“The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] have attacked in Syria, including after the downing of the Russian plane. Military coordination with the Russians continues as before,” said a “senior Israeli official”.

The official did not give details of any operations. However, Israel’s Channel 1 TV said one airstrike targeted an Iranian shipment of equipment for Lebanon’s Hezbollah, intended to increase the accuracy of rockets and missiles.

On September 17, Israeli F-16s fired missiles on Assad regime targets across western Syria. The Assad regime’s air defenses, trying to down the attackers, instead struck a Russian Il-20. The surveillance plane crashed into the Mediterranean, killing 15 personnel.

Israel claimed that the F-16s had already left the area to return to base, but the Russian Defense Ministry maintained that the Israeli jets were using the Il-20 for cover. The Ministry accused the Israeli air force of behavior that was irresponsible and possibly criminally negligent. President Vladimir Putin downplayed the incident as a tragic accident, but the Kremlin refused the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Moscow.

In its most significant move, Russia finally delivered four S-300 air defense missile systems to the Assad regime, after years of delaying the measure.

Despite the friction, Israel and Russia maintained their “de-confliction” agreement, established in September 2015 just before Moscow’s military intervention propping up the Assad regime. Under the terms, Russia has accepted Israeli operations to keep Hezbollah, Iranian, and Iranian-led forces out of southwest Syria near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Kremlin assured the Israelis that the S-300s are not aimed at “any third country”. Analysts believe that Russian personnel remain in control of the anti-aircraft systems, despite the nominal handover to the Assad regime’s military.  www.mesop.de