BICOM

Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon yesterday warned US Congress that Iran is having a dangerous, destabilizing influence in Syria and across the region.

Ya’alon told Congress that, “We are very worried about Iran’s presence in Syria.” With the focus of the international community on the threat of ISIS, Ya’alon reminded lawmakers that, “Iran’s Quds Force is currently the only source actively working in Syria to attack us, trying to smuggle weapons and run messengers.” Israel has remained firmly on the side lines of the Syrian conflict, but has infrequently responded to cross-border fire, planned attacks and Iranian-orchestrated attempts to smuggle weapons to its Hezbollah allies.

In January, the Iranian influence in Syria was underscored by an apparent Israeli air strike near the Israel-Syria border which killed prominent Hezbollah figure Jihad Mughniyeh and an Iranian general accompanying him. Meanwhile, in April, Israel confirmed it launched an air strike to prevent a terror cell it believes was headed by Hezbollah arch-terrorist Samir Kuntar and funded by Tehran, from infiltrating the border.

In addition, Israeli leaders have repeatedly warned that action will be taken to prevent attempts to transfer weapons from Syria to Iran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon. Most recently, Arab media reports said that Israel struck an arms convoy last month in the Qalamoun mountainous border region. Earlier this week, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel periodically takes action in Syria to protect its interests.

Ya’alon also yesterday highlighted Iran’s negative regional influence as a whole. He said, “The Iranian regime is perceived as one of the key sources of stability for the Middle East, but we would argue that it is the heart of the problem. This regime generates terrorism and undermines many of the regimes in the Middle East, and this is not good news for the region, not only Israel. The Iranian terror network is active across the world, including the US.”