IDF Spokesperson Brigadier General Yoav (Poly) Mordechai referred to the Bashar Assad regime in Syria on Friday, saying that the understanding that it has “reached its end” is now permeating among Assad’s allies Iran and Hezbollah.
“Another week has almost passed, during which it has been obvious that Iran and Hezbollah are engaged in a desperate effort to help the Assad regime survive,” Brig. Gen. Mordechai wrote on his official Facebook page. He added that Assad’s allies “are beginning to understand that the end is just a matter of time and therefore I wouldn’t be surprised if they are already planning for the day after.”
Brig. Gen. Mordechai emphasized that the IDF is prepared for any scenario.
Meanwhile, a Russian military source said that Russia may send warships and troops to Syria to protect its logistics base in Tartous, Syria.
“It is quite possible that warships of the Black Sea Fleet may go to the Mediterranean Sea in case it is necessary to protect the Russian logistics base in Tartous, Syria, since it is within the zone of the Fleet’s responsibility,” a source in the Russian General Staff told the Itar-Tass government news agency.
“Several warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, including large landing ships with marines aboard, are fully prepared to take to the sea,” the source added.
Earlier this week, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Yair Naveh said that “the same Syrians who act like this toward their people would do the same thing to us if they had the opportunity.” Naveh added that “Syria has the largest arsenal of chemical weapons in the world, and missiles and rockets that cover all of Israel.”
Earlier this month, IDF Northern Front Commander Major General Yair Golan said that “Al-Qaida operatives who are today acting against the Syrian regime may in time operate against us.” Golan noted that “Syria has weapons of mass destruction alongside a very heavy arsenal, which includes surface-to-surface and ground-to-sea missiles, and chemical weapons. The fact that Syria is a weapons storehouse that fuels terrorist elements disturbs us greatly.”