The Israeli Defense Minister said Yoav Galant Tel Aviv cannot accept an Iranian military presence in… Syria.
Gallant added to the British newspaper the Financial Times that Israel needs to stop transferring weapons from… Iran Through Syria and Iraq to Lebanon.
According to the newspaper, Syria is within what it called the Israeli vision after the deployment of Iranian forces and fighters Hezbollah To support the president’s regime Bashar al-Assad during Syrian war.
Tel Aviv, which has long launched sporadic strikes on targets linked to Iran and Hezbollah, has expanded its attacks on those targets inside Syrian territory over the past year.
Gallant explained that what he called the achievements of the Israeli army put it in a “strong position” to demand that Hezbollah push its fighters to the north. Litani River.
The Israeli Defense Minister added to the newspaper, “We understand that we are in a unique opportunity to prevail over Hezbollah. It cannot resist. Its ability to defend itself in southern Lebanon is collapsing,” in contrast to the 2006 war, as he put it.
Gallant’s statement comes in light of the escalation of tension and exchange of strikes between Tehran and Tel Aviv in recent weeks, coinciding with international calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, to avoid the crisis escalating into a comprehensive war in the region.
The Israeli army has raised its alert level, amid security estimates of the possibility of Tehran launching a “strong” attack in response to Israeli military strikes against Iranian sites.
A report published by the Israeli Walla website stated that the army conducts daily assessments of the situation and maintains high readiness, especially in the areas of air defense and the control system, in anticipation of any attack that may be launched by Iran or its allied groups in the region.
For its part, Israeli Channel 12 reported that estimates in Israel indicate that Iran will attack Israel, but it has not yet determined the scope and timing of the attack.
She indicated that it is possible that Iran will launch its attack from several arenas, not just from its territory, and that preparations in Israel for such an attack are still high.
The channel explained that squadrons of warplanes are preparing to deal with the scenario of launching a large number of drones.
She noted that Washington had warned Iran that if it attacked again, it would be impossible this time to prevent Israel from launching a major attack, according to what the Israeli channel reported.
For its part, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Tehran did not seek war, and that it had previously warned the international community of the possibilities of expanding the confrontation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that Iran will respond to Israel in an appropriate manner, adding that it does not make emotional decisions and that it responds with caution and wisdom, as he put it.
Araqchi confirmed during an interview with Iranian television that the US elections scheduled for Tuesday and their results will not affect Tehran’s decision to respond.
For its part, the Pentagon warned Iran and groups loyal to it against attacking American forces in the Middle East.
Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said that the deployment of American forces in the region aims to protect Washington’s interests, help Israel defend itself, and reduce escalation through deterrence and diplomacy.
Meanwhile, US intelligence said that Iran remains determined to take revenge on former American officials whom it considers responsible for the killing of the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qassem Soleimani.
This came in a joint statement by US National Intelligence, the FBI, and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
On October 26, the Israeli army announced an attack on Iranian military sites, stressing that it came in response to Iranian missiles fired at Israel at the beginning of the same month.
And I got stuck Iran Accordingly, its operations came in the wake of the killing of a number of military leaders it was supporting, in addition to a general in the Revolutionary Guard.
