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One of the Russian brigades’ commanders told TASS that joint exercises are currently being held between the Russian and Syrian military. The primary purpose of the practices is evacuation training, tactical reinforcements, and repulsed by enemy attacks. “Our mission is to monitor the ceasefire, show the Russian military presence and protect the Russian military,” he said.

After some time ago, the Syrian military managed to drive out several terrorist armed groups loyal to Turkey. The Russian military police took control of the patrol. Russia currently has five observation and reconnaissance military posts in the area, monitored by UN peacekeepers.

It is unclear how Israel will react to Russian actions in the region and whether this will not affect future Israeli attacks. Israel continues to claim that it is in this area of ​​Syria that Iranian forces and their supporters are operating. However, Russia has decided to send troops to the place, aiming to prove the truth of Israeli allegations. The presence of Russian forces ensures that there will be no future armed clashes in the region.

Israel launched massive airstrikes on Syrian targets, Damascus says

The Syrian Ministry of Defense has confirmed on November 25 that the Israeli Air Force has launched multiple airstrikes against targets along the Quneitra-Damascus line. This was also reported by the Lebanese news agency Al-Masdar News, citing military sources.

The Ministry of Defense of the Syrian Arab Republic [SAR] informs: “Exactly at 23:50 [local time – ed.] on the night of November 25, the Zionist enemy launched an airstrike from the Israeli-occupied Golan towards southern Damascus, and the losses were limited by material means”. Other agencies report that heavy attacks by Israeli strike aircraft have targeted the Jabal El Mania Heights [south of Damascus] and the vicinity of Al Quneitra. Photos of IDF Air Force attacks have appeared online. Some photographs taken from a distance show that Israeli planes hit their intended target.

Experts note that the Israeli military is seeking to squeeze out the Iranian troops and the Tehran-controlled Shiite militia цHezbollah and others; from the SAR, as soon as possible, or, at least, have time to inflict unacceptable damage on them. This rush is timed to coincide with the assumption of the presidency of the United States, Joe Biden, as Israel does not count on the support of his administration. Moreover, Jerusalem fears a resurgence of the nuclear deal and Washington’s relationship with Iran, which is Israel’s existential enemy.

BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that on November 18 according to the Syrian state news agency SANA, the Israeli air force has carried out large-scale airstrikes on positions of the Syrian army and Iranian special forces Al-Quds in the area of ​​the Syrian capital Damascus.

The strikes took place early at the morning [November 18 – ed.] and were confirmed by the Russian side, as a number of media officially quoted a press release from the Russian Ministry of Defense, including the Russian media RIA Novosti. According to the Syrian news agency SANA, earlier this morning the Syrian air defense managed to repel another Israeli attack.

Syria claims the strikes began in the Golan Heights and so far the Syrian army has lost three soldiers who were killed in the strikes. Israel has not clearly violated the airspace of the Arab Republic and may have used the F-16, and with the precise use of air-to-surface missiles has managed to strike the positions of the Syrian army and Iranian special forces Al-Quds. Al-Quds is a special unit of the Iranian army that is responsible for Iran’s operations outside the country.

Military experts say Israeli strikes on November 18 were a response to Syrian actions until days ago when Bashar al-Assad’s army installed and loaded highly destructive explosive devices along the border between the two countries, better known as the Alpha Line.

Syria and Israel have not had diplomatic relations since the creation of the two countries. The military conflict between the two countries has been going on for decades, mostly over the ownership of the Golan Heights. Israel periodically launches airstrikes on the Syrian army or on Syrian army positions around Damascus. Tel Aviv is also trying to destroy the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, which is based in Syria and is supporting the Syrian army.

War in Syria

In February, Turkey lost at least 62 troops killed in Syria, nearly 100 soldiers were wounded, dozens of Turkish armored vehicles were destroyed and more than ten drones, including drones, were shot down. Washington has repeatedly accused Moscow of involvement in the deaths of Turkish soldiers, Russia rejects these allegations.

In early March, the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, concluded an agreement according to which a ceasefire came into force in the Idlib de-escalation zone. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad later said that if the US and Turkish military did not leave the country, Damascus would be able to use force.

The reason for the Russian-Turkish negotiations was a sharp aggravation of the situation in Idlib, where in January a large-scale offensive by the Syrian army against the positions of the armed opposition and terrorists began.

Government forces recaptured nearly half of the Idlib de-escalation zone and left behind a number of Turkish observation posts. After that, Ankara sharply increased its military contingent in the region and launched the operation “Spring Shield” to push the Syrian troops. Turkey is also supported by militants loyal to it.

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Source: https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2020/12/12/russia-sent-troops-to-the-golan-heights-in-syria-will-the-israeli-attacks-stop/

The post Russia sent troops to the Golan Heights in Syria. Will the Israeli attacks stop? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The tensions between Iran and Russia about Iran’s continued presence and the nature of its activities in Syria are expected to continue and even worsen.

(January 30, 2019 / The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) The latest round of attacks by the Israeli Air Force on Iranian targets in Syria on Jan. 24 revealed the growing tensions in the relations between Iran and Russia regarding military activities in Syria.

The most recent expression of the strains came from Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the head of the Committee for National Security and Foreign Policy in the Iranian Majlis. He strongly criticized the Russian forces in Syria who turned off their S-300 air-defense systems during the last attack of the Israeli Air Force in Syria.

According to several reports, the attacks on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Al Quds Force targets killed several Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and Syrian soldiers. Falahatpisheh said that if the Russian defense systems had been functioning properly, Israel would not have been able to carry out the attack. The committee head also suggested that “there seems to be synchronization between the Zionist regime’s attacks and the Russian air defense systems in Syria.”¹

Iran’s current response against Russian policy in Syria resembles the one made after the Israeli Air Force attacked IRGC targets in May 2018. Beneath the surface, tensions continue to sizzle between the two countries regarding their military presence and deployment in Syria and their ultimate goals on the “day after” Syria is stabilized and its political orientation is set. Der Spiegel recently reported on battles between Syrian units, with some loyal to Russia and some loyal to Iran.² Scores of combatants were reportedly killed.

Following the attack in May 2018, the official Islamic Republic News Agency IRNA criticized Russia beneath the headline, “Where does Russia stand after the Zionist Regime’s attacks on Syria?” The publication emphasized that the two countries’ relationship is more of a “marriage of convenience” than a “strategic alliance.” IRNA contended that Russia was not at ease in its relations with Iran in Syria. The tension between the two stems from Moscow’s desire to maintain good relations with Israel.³

Furthermore, an Iranian website dealing with pan-Islamic issues that supports the Iranian presence in Syria also criticized Russia (and Iranian forces stationed in Syria) for failing to protect IRGC military forces operating in the T-4 airbase in Syria when Israel attacked it in May 2018. Several Iranians were killed. (See photo gallery of casualties.)

Russia, the website charged, is only concerned about its own soldiers, and it urged Iranian commanders to demand that Russia provide protection also for Iranian soldiers stationed in bases in Syria, wondering “what kind of an alliance is this with Russia?⁴

‘Russia is committed to the security of Israel’

Signs of Russian-Iranian tensions over Syrian policy can also be found in an interview given to CNN on Jan. 25, 2018⁵ by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. A day after the criticism by the Iranian head of the National Security and Foreign Policy in the Iranian Majlis, Ryabkov explained that Iran and Russia are not allies in Syria and that Moscow is committed to the security of Israel and is opposed to Iran’s hostile activities toward Israel. When asked whether Iran is Russia’s ally in Syria, Ryabkov replied:

I wouldn’t use this type of words (allies) to describe where we are with Iran. We in no way underestimate the importance of security measures that would ensure very strong security of the State of Israel. The Israelis know this, the United States knows this, everyone else, including the Iranians, the Turks, the government in Damascus. This (Israel’s security) is one of the top priorities of Russia.⁶

Conflicting Russian messages

Contradictory Russian messages were apparently transmitted during a January 27, 2019 meeting between Hassan Amir Abdallahian, senior foreign-policy adviser to the chairman of the Parliament (Majlis), with Russia’s Ambassador in Tehran Levan Dzhagaryan. The Russian ambassador said during the meeting that Russia and Iran share common positions and strategies and also intend to expand the cooperation between them.

He continued, “The weak Russia-Iran relationship is a myth. Those in the West raising these issues are enemies of the alliance between the two countries. Those who spread these rumors within Iran are friends of the West. Those criticizing Russia are not interested in the alliance between Iran and Russia, and we know who they are.”

He added that the Russian deputy foreign minister and Putin’s adviser for Syrian affairs, Sergey Vershinin, regularly visit Iran to discuss Syria “with our ally.”⁷

Abdallahian said that Israel (the Zionist regime) “will be the main loser as a result of its warmongering policy in the Middle East and that its military provocations pose a real risk to regional security.”

The marriage of convenience may fall apart

The tensions between Iran and Russia about Iran’s continued presence and the nature of its activities in Syria are expected to continue and even worsen. For now, both countries are successful in keeping the tensions in a low media profile, but occasionally they rise to the surface, as they did this past week after the air force attack and previous attacks that resulted in many Revolutionary Guard casualties. In recent days, there were also unconfirmed reports of fighting in various areas in Syria between armed forces loyal to Iran (Syrian Army Division 4) and those loyal to Russia.

In the short-medium term, both countries share an interest in shoring up the regime of Bashar Assad. However, the day after stabilizing the regime, the controversies and opposing long-term interests of the two countries will float to the surface. Iran considers Syria another forward base on the front alongside Lebanon for confronting Israel. This could lead to instability and hurt Russian interests in establishing a permanent and stable presence in the Mediterranean region (including Libya).

At this stage, the differences of opinion between Moscow and Tehran about the nature of Iran’s presence in the Syrian arena do not influence bilateral political, economic and military cooperation (weapons procurement) between the two countries. Russia will not join the U.S. sanctions move against Iran and will support the nuclear deal. However, in the long run, the growing tensions and gaps regarding future policy in Syria may break the Iranian-Russian marriage of convenience and erode the current broader and common strategic interests of the two countries in the region and even affect their bilateral relations.

IDF Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael (Mickey) Segall, an expert on strategic issues with a focus on Iran, terrorism, and the Middle East, is a senior analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and at Alcyon Risk Advisors.

* * *

Notes:

The post The rocky marriage of convenience between Russia and Iran in Syria first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Sergey Bobylev/TASS

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. Air defense systems S-300 will impede Israeli Air Force flights, including reconnaissance ones, over Syria. Although Tel-Aviv earlier said it would not give up its operations, the S-300 factor puts pressure on the Israeli leadership, the chief of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, Alexander Mikhailov, told TASS on Monday.

Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel would not give up its operations in Syria in defiance of the supply of Russia’s S-300 systems to that country.

“When Russia’s S-300s are turned on over Syrian-Israeli points of engagement, the Israeli pilots know they are on Russian radars. Naturally, they report this to their superiors and this puts pressure on the Israeli leadership,” Mikhailov said.

“The Israeli leadership’s position has been determined – Israel wants to go ahead with unhampered flights over Syria’s border areas and press for its decisions regarding the presence of Iranian forces there, which under our agreements with Israel are now leaving these territories,” Mikhailov said.

He believes that if Israel continues to coordinate its actions with the Russian group in Syria further on, it will be possible to avoid incidents in the future.

“We would like to believe that if Israel and the Israeli Defense Ministry hold consultations with the Russian group in Syria over all activities, no conflicts will ever emerge. I believe that the Israeli leadership will display common sense not to repeat such incidents and to stay out of the areas where our systems are turned on,” Mikhailov said.

He believes that in order to ease tensions Russia should maintain a dialogue with Israel.

“We should conduct a mutually beneficial dialogue with Israel and address it with fresh reminders that combat operations are in progress away from the Russian borders, but near the Israeli ones, so it would make no sense to aggravate the already complicated situation… One would like to believe that the Israeli Defense Ministry will refrain from provoking the Syrian air defense into hitting Israeli aircraft,” he added.

Ilyushin-20 crash in the Mediterranean

Russia’s reconnaissance and radio-electronic warfare plane Ilyushin-20 was shot down over the Mediterranean on September 17 while returning to the Hmeymim airbase. The Russian Defense Ministry said the plane was downed with a missile launched by Syria’s air defense system S-200, which was counterattacking four Israeli jets F-16 during their strikes against targets in Latakia province. The Ilyushin-20’s fifteen crew were killed in the tragedy.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on September 24 said that the loss of the Ilyushin-20 in Syria due to the Israeli air pilots’ actions forced Moscow to take extra security measures. Russia’s air defense systems S-300 will be deployed in Syria within two weeks, the command posts of Syria’s air defense will be equipped with automatic Russian systems capable of identifying Russian planes and Russian means of radio-electronic warfare will pose obstructions to air strikes against targets in Syria.

Source: http://tass.com/defense/1024991

The post S-300 to impede Israeli Air Force flights over Syria, says analyst first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

No Israeli planes were hit, the Israeli military spokesman Lt.-Col. Jonathan Conricus said. The counter-strike took place two hours later and “incapacitated” the antiaircraft unit located 30 miles east of Damascus, he said.

“We know according to our intelligence it was a battery controlled by the Syrian regime and we hold the Syrian regime responsible for the fire,” Colonel Conricus said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later issued a statement saying Israel would not hesitate to defend itself.

“Today there was an attempt to harm our aircraft; this is unacceptable to us. The air force acted quickly and accurately to destroy what needed to be destroyed,” Netanyahu said.

“Our policy is clear. Whoever tries to harm us, we will strike at him. We will continue to act in the region as is required in order to defend Israel.”

But the Syrian Army said it struck an Israeli warplane that had breached its air space at the Syria-Lebanon border.

“The Israeli enemy this morning violated our air space… Our air defense mediums confronted it, hit one of its planes directly and forced it to flee,” the Syrian military statement said.

Over two hours later, Israel launched several missiles that hit a military position in the Damascus countryside and only caused material damage, it said. The Syrian Army warned Israel against the “grave consequences of repeated aggressive attempts.”

Syria and Israel, while old enemies, have rarely traded blows directly since a 1974 cease-fire ended their last conventional war.

Monday’s incident was additionally unusual given its publication by Israel, which rarely gives details on its air force activities over Lebanon and Syria to foil suspected arms transfers to Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.

Such missions in Syria have increased drastically during the country’s six-and-a-half-year-old civil war, Israeli officials say. All efforts, they say, are made to avoid accidental clashes with Russian forces helping Damascus beat back insurgents.

Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, began a visit to Israel later on Monday but did not mention the airstrike during public remarks at the start of a meeting in Tel Aviv with his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman.

“I would like to talk about the things related to Syria,” Mr. Shoigu said. “The operation there is close to the end. There are several problems which require urgent solution and the prospects of further development of the situation in Syria require discussion.”

Colonel Conricus said the Israeli military had informed Russia of its Syria strike “in real time or immediately before” it took place, and would brief Shoigu.

The Lebanese Army says Israeli aircraft regularly violate Lebanon’s air space.

Colonel Conricus said a Syrian attack on Israeli Air Force planes over Lebanon was unprecedented. Syrian antiaircraft missiles were launched at Israeli warplanes over Syria in March. They were unscathed but one of the missiles, on its descent, was intercepted by Israel’s Arrow air defense system.

According to Colonel Conricus, the Syrian battery struck on Monday had carried out the launch against the Israeli planes in March.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/world/israel-carries-out-air-strike-on-syrian-anti-aircraft-battery.html

The post Israel Carries Out Airstrike on Syrian Anti-Aircraft Battery first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.