Russia
The tensions between Iran and Russia about Iran’s continued presence and the nature of its activities in Syria are expected to continue and even worsen.
Netanyahu meets with Russian deputy foreign minister, Syria envoy
The Russian diplomats stressed their Moscow’s commitment to maintaining Israeli national security, said the prime minister’s office.
In interview with CNN, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov denies that Moscow allied with Iran in Syria, says countries do not see “eye to eye” • Pentagon reportedly weighing plan to maintain U.S. military base in southeastern Syria.
Still, Russia warned Israel to stop its “arbitrary” airstrikes in Syria, saying that they should be “ruled out.”
“The practice of arbitrary strikes on the territory of a sovereign state, in this case, we are talking about Syria, should be ruled out,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Israel’s intelligence community, together with the Foreign Ministry, the National Cyber Directorate and private cyber-defense firms, are all preparing to track and repel any attempts at foreign intervention.
Whatever was hit in Syria by Israel may have belonged to a category known as “time-critical targets.” That could mean that imminent plans were in place to move the target to a place where it would be harder to strike.
American sources and coalition forces operating in Afghanistan accuse Iran of assisting various organizations in striking at the U.S. forces stationed in Afghanistan and have even provided them with weaponry.
The Arab Spring period featured large-scale civil wars, uprisings and the involvement of external elements in failed states, as old orders fell apart. But new developments depict a different scenario, according to an ex-senior intelligence officer.
In a phone call between the two leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed Israel’s interest in preventing Iran from establishing a presence in Syria.
The goal is to avoid a larger conflagration among the different powers involved.
They are also banking on France and its small presence in Syria to bolster the Kurds against a possible Turkish attack.
