Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Tuesday morning met in Jerusalem with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, one day after an Israel Air Force attack on a Syrian missile battery. According to a press release by the PM’s office, the meeting “mostly dealt with Iran’s attempt to establish itself militarily in Syria. Prime Minister Netanyahu told Russian Defense Minister Shoigu that ‘Iran needs to understand that Israel will not allow this.'”
The issue of the Iranian nuclear agreement was also raised, according to the same press release, and Netanyahu said that Iran would have an arsenal of nuclear weapons within 8-10 years if the deal is not changed.
Meanwhile, TASS reported, citing an IDF spokesperson, that Israel had notified Russia “in real time” about the strike on Syria. “The Syrian regime is responsible for the anti-aircraft fire. The IDF maintains its ability to thwart hostilities against Israeli civilians,” the IDF spokesperson stressed. “Preserving the relative stability is a common interest. Israel has no intention of destabilizing the situation.”
The General Command of the Syrian Armed Forces warned of the “dangerous repercussions” of “Israel’s repeated aggression attempts,” stressing Syria’s determination to continue its war against what it termed Israeli terrorist proxy groups in the region.