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WEST KURDISTA (SYRIA)

Israel — Our Strikes Set Back Iranian Military “Many Months”

By Scott Lucas – May 11, 2018 – eaworldview – The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that its overnight strikes set back Iranian military capabilities in Syria by “many months”. The Israeli military struck multiple positions of the Assad regime, where Iranian personnel are stationed, after rocket fire into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights early Thursday. It claimed the rockets — about 20, all of which were either intercepted or fell without causing casualties outside Israeli territory — were fired by the Quds Forces, Iran’s elite military force for operations outside the Islamic Republic.

The IDF said it responded by attacking more than 50 targets, including headquarters and intelligence centers of the Quds Force; weapons depots; storage facilities; observation posts; and logistics centers, as well as regime anti-aircraft missile systems and the rocket launcher that started the exchange. Among locations given were the al-Kiswah base, an Iranian logistics compound “northwest of Damascus”, storage warehouses at Damascus International Airport, and observation posts and munitions in the zone near the Golan Heights.

The military released photos of some of the sites and video of a strike on a Pantsir S-1 rocket launcher — cost $15 million — which was destroyed:

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman claimed that the IDF had destroyed “nearly all” of Iran’s military infrastructure in Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the successful attacks were a “consequence” of Iran “crossing a red line”.

Iran is not acknowledging that its units fired rockets into the Golan Heights or that they were targeted by the Israelis. Instead, President Hassan Rouhani told German Chancellor Angela Merkel, “Iran has always sought to reduce tensions in the region, trying to strengthen security and stability.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi declared that “the Zionist regime’s repeated attacks on Syrian soil” were to “avenge the many failures of their self-created terrorists and tip the scales in their favor”.

Widespread Call to Avoid Escalation

Russia — which is the key ally alongside Iran of the Assad regime but which also has a de facto cooperation arrangement with Israel — did not challenge the attacks or criticize them. Later, Foreign Secretary Sergey Lavrov said the raids were a “very alarming development” and called for caution from both sides, with all issues “solved through dialogue”.

France, Germany, and Britain issued similar statements. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for an “immediate halt to all hostile acts” and for the Security Council to remain actively aware of the situation and “shoulder its responsibilities” under the UN Charter.

While calling for restraint, France declared its “unwavering support for Israel’s security”, and Germany and Britain denounced the rockets into the Golan that they said came from the Iranian military.

The White House condemned Iran’s “provocative attack” with “offensive rocket and missile systems aimed at Israel”. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Iranian deployment is Syria “is an unacceptable and highly dangerous development for the entire Middle East”. www.mesop.de