World Jewish News

War with Iranian proxies in Syria could be ‘matter of Wweks’

A military conflict between Israel and Iranian proxies in Syria could begin a matter of weeks, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer said Monday.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Politico online journal, Dermer said international refusal to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was little more than a “farce” and warned against focusing on President Trump’s policy vagaries on that topic at the expense of letting the Iranian issue fly under the proverbial radar.

Asked to predict the chances of an open conflict breaking out with Hezbollah in the next year, Dermer declined to suggest a percentage. But he said the possibility was higher than most people realise.

“I think it is higher than people think because of Iran’s continued push through the region. If Iran is not rolled back in Syria, then the chances of military confrontation are growing. I don’t want to tell you by the year or by the month. I’d say even by the week,” Dermer said. “The more they push, we have to enforce our red lines … So in taking action to defend ourselves, you don’t know what could happen. But I think it’s higher than people think.”

Dermer’s comments coincided with reports in the Arab media of an attack against the Jamrya military research center, some five kilometers northwest of the Syrian capital, Damascus, allegedly by Israel. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and other Israeli officials have said repeatedly in recent months that Israel is committed to preventing either Iran or Hezbollah from maintaining a military presence in Syria once the civil war in that country concludes.

The pro-regime al-Masdar News said Israeli jets had fired at least seven missiles from Lebanese air space, scoring a direct hit with at least four of the missiles on a target in Jamraya.

EJP