Israeli attacks in Syria became more frequent, escalating tensions with Iran
-
Sulaiman
- . April 5, 2023
- . Update: April 6, 2023 11:53 am
Two Iranian military advisers were killed in suspected Israeli bombings in Syria in recent weeks, which also temporarily shut down the nation’s two busiest airports and sparked worries about a regional escalation.
Israel and Iran have been engaged in a covert conflict in Syria for many years, but it has recently gotten worse, with Syrian authorities attributing nearly daily attacks to Israel over the past week.
With last month’s reconciliation between Iran and its competitor Saudi Arabia and what looks to be a rare entry into Israel of an armed man from Lebanon, attacks have escalated. It also occurs in the midst of a significant domestic upheaval in Israel over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration’s proposal to reform the court.
Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled areas of neighboring Syria in recent years, but it rarely admits them. Israel has sworn to thwart Iranian entrenchment in that country. Syrian authorities have blamed Israel for 10 attacks on Syrian land since the year 2023, including four airstrikes in the past five days as of Tuesday.
Read | Georgina Rodriguez hits out at ‘false’ claims about her kids schooling in Saudi Arabia
Israel’s closest ally, the United States, has recently encountered Iranian forces in Syria. Late in March, US forces responded to a drone attack in northeast Syria that killed a US contractor and injured six other Americans by conducting airstrikes on locations in Syria utilized by organizations associated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Some worry that the back-and-forth between Israel and Iran could escalate despite the fact that the flare-up between the US and Iran did not.
Iran has sent thousands of militants from nations like Iraq and Lebanon as well as hundreds of military instructors since the beginning of Syria’s 12-year conflict, helping to shift the scales in President Bashar Assad’s favor. There are fighters operating throughout Syria with support from Iran.
Israel has long seen Iran as its worst enemy due to Iranian calls for the destruction of Israel, support for militant anti-Israel organizations like Hezbollah, and Iran’s nuclear program. Iran denies the accusation that it is working on developing nuclear weapons, which is made by Israel and Western nations.
