World #2: Israel Hits Iranian Targets in Syria After Attack on Golan Heights

Israel’s military said the strikes came after Iran’s Quds Force, an elite arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired a missile [at the Mount Hermon ski resort in] the northern Golan Heights. [The missile was intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile defense system.  Israel closed the ski resort on Monday after the attack. The Israeli Defense Forces tweeted a video clip.] [Israel’s foreign ministry tweeted:

“Iran’s attempts to entrench itself in Syria and endanger Israeli lives will not be tolerated.”].

Israel’s attack adds to the hundreds of strikes in Syria carried out by its military in a yearslong operation to foil Iranian military entrenchment on its northern border. But it marked only the third time Israeli strikes have targeted [Iranian military sites in] Syria in response to a direct attack by Iran.

Israel’s military generally avoids commenting on its frequent individual strikes in Syria to maintain ambiguity and avoid retaliation. But an apparent change of tack in recent weeks has seen Israel going public following strikes, despite concerns that it could prompt the Iranians to respond and potentially escalate the exchange of fire into a wider regional war.

“We will not ignore such acts of aggression as Iran attempts to entrench itself militarily in Syria and given explicit statements by Iran that it intends to destroy Israel,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.

Netanyahu said Israel’s air strikes had mainly targeted military positions set up by Iran, which he warned would face consequences for threatening to destroy Israel.

“We are operating both against Iran and against the Syrian forces that are abetting the Iranian aggression,” Netanyahu said in a speech. “We will strike at anyone who tried to harm us. Whoever threatens to eliminate us, bears full responsibility.”

Mr. Netanyahu was referring to an Iranian state-linked news website earlier Monday quoting the head of Iran’s air force, Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, as saying the country was impatient to fight Israel and destroy it.

Although Iranian officials often make verbal threats against Israel [“Death to Israel” is their favorite], military action by Iran and its allies against Israel has been limited throughout the Syrian war.

But Israeli officials have expressed concern that a quick drawdown of American troops could give Iran an opportunity to expand its presence and influence in Syria. Forces loyal to Tehran, including Hezbollah [the Iranian-backed terrorist group that operates out of Lebanon], have helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reassert control over the entire country after nearly eight years of civil war and the fight against Islamic State.  …..

Syrian state media said the country’s air defenses intercepted most of the missiles launched by Israel late Sunday night. The Iranian military wasn’t available for comment. Russia, which backs the Syrian government, said in a tweet from its Defense Ministry that Syrian air-defense forces destroyed seven Israeli missiles.

At least 11 people were killed by the Israeli strikes, at least four of them Syrian soldiers, according to the U.K.-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.  …..

Published at WSJ .com on January 21. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission from The Wall Street Journal.