Read more: BulgarianMilitary.com 24/7 – War in Syria: Who controls what and what happens

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.

Brigadier General Hossein Salami, deputy commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, criticized Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s 12-point plan for potentially reaching a new nuclear agreement with Iran after President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 deal earlier this month. In his first major policy speech as top U.S. diplomat, Pompeo said last week that any new agreement would have to include an Iranian commitment to end support for militant groups abroad and ballistic missile development, something Iranian officials have roundly rejected.

“They think Iran should end the development of its missile (program),” Salami said at a ceremony in Tehran, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency. “Since they cannot force us, they ask us to do it, ourselves.”

“No one can destroy our missile power and if they are afraid they can go to shelters,” he added.

An Iranian military truck carries missiles past a portrait of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a parade on the occasion of the country’s annual army day on April 18, 2018 in Tehran. Iran’s production of non-nuclear missiles and support for foreign groups were not covered by the 2015 nuclear accords reached under the administration of former President Barack Obama.ATTA KENARE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The Revolutionary Guards are widely considered to be Iran’s top fighting force, and they have been involved in regional conflicts as well. Like the U.S., Iran is involved in the government-led battle against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in Iraq, but Iran also supports the Syrian government against ISIS and insurgents, whereas the U.S. backs a mostly Kurdish coalition that also includes Arabs and other ethnic minorities operating mostly outside of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s control in Syria.

In both countries, Iran has backed Shiite Muslim groups considered terrorist organizations by the U.S., including the Lebanese Hezbollah movement in Syria and Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq. Iran’s successful anti-ISIS campaigns in both Iraq and Syria have expanded its regional foothold, but have also produced a violent flare in hostilities between international-backed campaigns. In past months, U.S. and Israeli forces have conducted deadly airstrikes against Iranian and pro-Iran groups in Syria.

Related: Iran Tells U.S.: We Were Invited to Iraq and Syria, What About You?

While not listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department, Yemen’s Zaidi Shiite Muslim Ansar Allah, or Houthi movement, has also been accused of receiving Iranian backing by the U.S. and its Saudi Arabian ally. The insurgents have fired missiles at Saudi Arabia as the kingdom leads a war to expel them from the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

The U.S. has also alleged Iranian support for Sunni Muslim-designated terrorist groups such as the Palestinian Hamas, Afghan Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Iran has charged the U.S. with clandestine support of ISIS, which grew out of an Al-Qaeda-led insurgency following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and a 2011 Syrian uprising backed by the West, Turkey and Gulf Arab states.

A graphic shows the extent of Iran’s ballistic missile program. The U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia accuse Iran of destabilizing the region, but Iran has warned it will continue developing its weapons to defend its borders.CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES MISSILE DEFENSE PROJECT

Trump’s May 8 withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement came despite pleas for the U.S. to remain by European allies and other leading powers. With U.S. nuclear-related sanctions going back into effect, Iran has expressed skepticism about staying a party to the deal, but Tehran’s diplomats have met with fellow signatories China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.K. in an attempt to salvage it.

The U.S. and Iran have been deeply mistrustful of one another since the 1979 Islamic Revolution brought the current theocratic leadership to power in Iran, ousting a pro-West absolute monarch who was reinstalled by a CIA coup in 1953. The countries have not maintained formal relations for decades and U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia have pushed Trump to adopt a tougher policy against Iran.

Source: http://www.newsweek.com/iran-says-no-can-destroy-our-missile-power-not-even-us-948120

The post Iran says ‘No one can destroy our missile power,’ not even the U.S. Military first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.