{"id":65310,"date":"2018-05-11T05:26:21","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T05:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=65310"},"modified":"2018-05-11T05:26:21","modified_gmt":"2018-05-11T05:26:21","slug":"israel-strikes-iranian-targets-in-syria-after-rocket-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/israel-strikes-iranian-targets-in-syria-after-rocket-fire.html","title":{"rendered":"Israel strikes Iranian targets in Syria after rocket fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel strikes Iranian targets in Syria after rocket fire<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Israel said it attacked nearly all of Iran\u2019s military infrastructure in Syria on Thursday after Iranian forces fired rockets at Israeli-held territory for the first time in the most extensive military exchange ever between the two adversaries.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was the heaviest Israeli barrage in Syria since the 2011 start of the civil war in which Iranians, allied Shi\u2019ite Muslim militias and Russian troops have deployed in support of President Bashar al-Assad. The confrontation came two days after the United States announced its withdrawal, with Israel\u2019s urging, from a nuclear accord with Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel destroyed dozens of Iranian military sites in Syria, as well as Syrian anti-aircraft units that tried unsuccessfully to shoot down Israeli planes, Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Syrian state media said Israel launched dozens of missiles and hit a radar station, Syrian air defense positions and an ammunition dump, underscoring the risks of a wider escalation involving Iran and its regional allies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Syrian Army Command said Israel\u2019s attack killed three people and injured two others. A Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the strikes killed at least 23 military personnel, including Syrians and non-Syrians.<\/span><\/p>\n

The White House, in a statement, condemned Iran\u2019s \u201cprovocative rocket attacks\u201d from Syria and said it supported Israel\u2019s right to defend itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel\u2019s air strikes were \u201cappropriate\u201d because Iran had \u201ccrossed a red line.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in the midst of a protracted battle and our policy is clear: We will not allow Iran to entrench itself militarily in Syria,\u201d Netanyahu said in a brief video address.<\/span><\/p>\n

Expectations of a regional flare-up, amid warnings from Israel that it was determined to prevent any Iranian military entrenchment in Syria, were stoked by U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s announcement on Tuesday about the withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States portrayed its rejection of that agreement as a response, in part, to Iran\u2019s military interventions in the Middle East, underpinning Netanyahu\u2019s tough line towards Tehran.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel said 20 Iranian Grad and Fajr rockets were shot down by its Iron Dome air defense system or did not reach targets in the occupied Golan Heights, territory captured from Syria in a 1967 war. The Quds Force, an external arm of Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards, carried out the rocket salvo, Israel said.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was no immediate comment from Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n

Iran and Israel were already drawing deeper into confrontation before Trump pulled the United States out of the deal, but his move has shaken up the region. Within Iran, it could empower hardliners while weakening the moderate camp that has sought better relations with the West.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018EVERYONE GOT THE MESSAGE\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the Iranian rockets either fell short of their targets – military bases in the Golan – or were intercepted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe hit … almost all of the Iranian infrastructure in Syria,\u201d Lieberman said at the annual Herzliya security conference near Tel Aviv. \u201cI hope we finished this chapter and everyone got the message.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The White House said, \u201cThe Iranian regime\u2019s deployment into Syria of offensive rocket and missile systems aimed at Israel is an unacceptable and highly dangerous development for the entire Middle East.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Syrian foreign ministry said the Israeli attack indicated \u201cthe start of a new phase of aggression\u201d against Syria.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s exchange followed a suspected Israeli rocket strike in Syria on Tuesday on a military base in Kisweh, hours after Trump\u2019s announcement on the nuclear deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Syrian Observatory for Human rights said 15 people, including eight Iranians, were killed in that attack. A commander in the pro-Syrian government regional alliance said there were no casualties. Israel, as it has typically done in similar incidents, neither confirmed nor denied a role.<\/span><\/p>\n

France urged Iran on Thursday to refrain from all \u201cmilitary provocation\u201d and cautioned it against \u201call temptations for regional hegemony\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the overnight attacks by Iranian forces and called on Iran to contribute to de-escalation of tensions in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russia, generally friendly to Israel but fighting in Syria\u2019s civil war on the same side as Iran, called on both to show restraint and resolve differences through diplomatic means.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s defense ministry said Syria had shot down more than half of the missiles fired by Israel, RIA news agency reported.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conricus, the Israeli military spokesman, said the military focused on inflicting \u201clong-term damage on the Iranian military establishment in Syria\u201d and assessed \u201cit will take a substantial time to replenish\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Israelis fear that Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah are turning Syria into a new front against them. Israel says its occasional strikes in Syria aim to prevent such an outcome. Israel regards Iran as its biggest threat and has repeatedly targeted Iranian forces and allied militia in Syria.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-mideast-crisis-syria-israel\/israel-strikes-iranian-targets-in-syria-after-rocket-fire-idUSKBN1IA3GF<\/span><\/p>\n

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