Netanyahu: Israel Still in Midst of Campaign to Stop Iranian Aggression

“All of these weapons are for use against the State of Israel and it is our right – based on the right of self-defense – to prevent their manufacture or transfer,” the Israeli premier stated.

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel

Israel is operating to thwart the transfer of deadly weapons from Iran through Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as their manufacture in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated.

Netanyahu spoke over the weekend with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, expressing his appreciation for the “determined position of the US administration regarding the nuclear agreement with Iran and against Iranian aggression in our region.”

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced that the US was withdrawing from the nuclear deal with Iran, after which Pompeo announced the US’ list of 12 demands with which Iran must comply, or face “the strongest sanctions in history.”

Speaking at the beginning of the Cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu charged that “the regime in Tehran is the main element undermining stability in the Middle East. The campaign against its aggression is not over; we are still in the midst of it.”

Not only is Israel working to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons or establishing a military presence on the Jewish state’s borders, it is also “operating against the transfer of deadly weapons from Syria to Lebanon or their manufacture in Lebanon,” Netanyahu added.

“All of these weapons are for use against the State of Israel and it is our right – based on the right of self-defense – to prevent their manufacture or transfer,” the Israeli premier stated.

Israel considers Iranian military bases in Syria a “red line” and has repeatedly said it will fight to prevent Iran’s military buildup inside the war-torn country.

On Thursday, Israeli Air Force (IAF) jets reportedly struck late a military base in central Syria that houses Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group, alongside other factions allied with the Assad regime, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

It is not clear if there are any casualties in the strikes on the Dabaa air base in central Homs province.

Syria’s SANA official news agency reported late Thursday that a military base in central Syria came under attack from “enemy” fire. Syrian air defenses responded, the report claimed.

“Six missiles were fired at the Dabaa military airport and surrounding area in the western sector of Homs province, targeting Lebanese Hezbollah weapons warehouses,” Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the SOHR, told AFP. He said Israel was behind the attack.

This was supposedly the latest in a series of Israeli raids in recent weeks on Hezbollah positions, as well as on military installations used by Iran in Syria.