In what is now being described as the “most direct confrontation between Israel and Iran in decades,” Israel exchanged fire with Syrian and Iranian forces during a late-night showdown that ended early Thursday morning.
The exchange came days after Israel called up reserve troops to the Golan Heights, the disputed border region.
It also followed by less than two days President Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Iran deal. Trump said Tuesday that the US would swiftly reimpose economic sanctions on Iran that had been lifted following the 2015 agreement.
According to Syrian media, some 28 Israeli aircraft fired around 60 air-to-surface missiles at Syria during the exchange. Iranian lawmakers have denied the IDF’s claims that Iranian forces in Syria provoked Israel by firing on their positions in the Golan Heights border area.
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
Israel also launched roughly 10 surface-to-surface missiles, which struck military targets near Damascus and in Southern Syria, according to the Russian military.
Meanwhile, the IDF says Israel’s Iron Dome defense system intercepted 20 rockets launched at Israeli targets by Syrian and Iranian forces based in Syria.
While Israeli has pointed the finger squarely at Iran, the country’s bitter rival has denied any involvement.
Mohammad Javad Jamali Nobandegani, a member of Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, said Israel’s claim was “a lie,” adding that Israel’s history of carrying out unprovoked attacks in Syria has been well-documented.
“Iran does not have military base in Syria,” Nobandegani added.
The Israeli officials said the strikes damaged Iranian infrastructure in Syria, according to CNN.
“Israel has hit almost all of Iran’s infrastructure in Syria,” Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Thursday morning. “If it will rain in Israel, there will be a biblical flood on the other side.”
Now that the dust has settled, the timeline of events is becoming more clear: On Wednesday night, Syria’s state-run SANA television station reported that Israel fired several missiles at the city of Baath in Quneitra. No casualties were reported.
A short time later, Syrian state-run media reported that while dozens of “hostile” Israeli missiles had been intercepted in Syrian airspace, at least two others had hit an ammunition depot and destroyed a radar site.
Israel and Iran have been waging what the New York Times called a “shadow war” in Syria for months, as Israel has launched dozens of airstrikes, with sometimes deadly results for Syrian and Iranian soldiers.
The damage inflicted on Syrian military and civilian infrastructure is still being evaluated.
The exchange marked the first time that Syrian Army forces have fired directly on Israeli troops, according to Israeli claims. Meanwhile, RT described the Israeli air raid as one of the country’s “most extensive attacks in years.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged Israel and the US to avoid acts that could lead to a spiraling conflict.
While Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov denounced the exchange as dangerous, saying it would get in the way of a political settlement to end the Syrian conflict.
“The current aggravation between Israel and Iran, their exchange of strikes, is dangerous, as it distracts from the fight against ISIS, against terrorists, hampers the political settlement of the situation in Syria,” said Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin – who met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow yesterday – urged restraint on the part of Israel. Israel notified Russia ahead of the attack.
“The situation, unfortunately, is very acute. I want to hope that we will be able not only to discuss with you, but also to look for solutions that would soften the situation,” said Putin.
While observers, including United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres, have warned that tensions between Israel and Iran could spark the next world war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad played down this claims during an interview with a Greek newspaper published Thursday.
In an interview with the Greek newspaper Kathimerini published Thursday, Assad said fears of a third world war erupting in Syria were misplaced, despite escalating tensions.
Assad told the paper that “wise Russian leadership” would prevent such an event, describing the current conflict as “something more than a cold war, less than a full-blown war.” He also took aim at the US, saying the Russians “know that the agenda of the deep state in the United States is to create a conflict.”
As of now, it’s unclear whether Israel and Iran will escalate the conflict, or whether the tit-for-tat strikes have come to an end. SANA reported that the strikes mark “the start of a new phase of Israeli aggression against Syria,” according to Sputnik.
The Golan Heights is widely seen as Israeli-occupied territory after it was taken from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Another 100 million in American paid armaments gone! Poof!
No problem for the Orange Jooby in the white house! Get to work you stupid goy! The joobies need your blood and treasure…again!
Hilarious fact!
The EU seems to be siding with Iran, so once again Trump’s actions expose reality. Let the EU support Iran; we can respond by pulling our troops out of Europe, finally. We spend much more on our European military presence than the weapons shipped to “our greatest ally”.
Do u REALLY think that US troops and installations in Europe are there to protect Europe lol. It’s an occupation force to spy on and stop Europe being a true rival to the US. Once Germany turns east like it always does in history, American power will wane, The US will have to compete on a level playing field, your standard of living will crash.
Hard to think that Putin didn’t know about this when him and Bibi just met yesterday. Things that make you go hmmmmmm… Chip
Bibi certainly told Putin. That’s how you make sure it stays an Iran/Israel thing and not a Iran-Syria-Russia/Israel thing.
A proxy war between Israel and Iran. Another chapter in the ongoing tragedy of the middle east that started with Jewish occupation 70 years ago. Palestine wasn’t nothing before the Jews took over, it was the home of native Palestinians.
Given the devastation of European Jewry during World War II — yes, probably exaggerated, but not imaginary — the victors thought Jews were entitled to a country of their own. Too bad it was already someone else’s country. The United States, given its immense power and prestige after the war, could have seen to it that Jews were protected in every European country other than the Soviet bloc. It didn’t have to back a mass migration to Palestine and a takeover.
If only they could have foreseen the results of a Jewish state created by force … if only.
Total BS as you missed out on world history for the past 2000 years. Palestinians were nomadic Arabs that would travel all through the region. With the re-defining of country boarders after WWII the nomadic Palestinian tribes were considered lower class scum – they still are. They were persecuted and kicked out of Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, the Saudi peninsula, and Egypt.
The Jewish were awarded their “promised Land” back as a country but they also inherited the Palestinians who happened to be in the country in ’47. The Jews lived in that land for thousands of years prior to ’47. Over 2/3 of the occupants in ’47 were Jewish in what is now Israel. The Jewish people have tried to coexist but the hate filled Palestinians have attacked and waged a war of terror on the Jewish state.
Israeli troops wear really crap uniforms. I wouldn’t be seen dead in one.
Since it’s quite rare to see someone dead in one, they may be the best one to be wearing in a war torn area like the ME.
“The Golan Heights is widely seen as Israeli-occupied territory after it was taken from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War.” Uh, Sorry Charlie. The Golan Heights ain’t never going back. That’s pretty much non negotiable. Israel found out how vulnerable they were to attack from the Golan Heights in 1967, and they’ll never let that happen again.
Fuck Israel. Fuck their security, fuck their delusional people and fuck their wars.
Easy Zara, I’m not taking a side, I’m just stating a fact
As American power projection and prestige continue to decline rapidly, as we are witnessing, Israel will have no choice but to start acting as a reasonable, mature, law abiding country, and negotiate the handover of the Golan to Syria, along with accepting a Palestinian territory, with Israel security protections assured by Russia and China, and US to whatever degree they are relevant by then.
Question is how long will this take, and how many more innocent people have to get slaughtered by Israel and US?
Isn’t it curious that Israel is fighting Iran in Syria? That would be like us fighting China in Russia.
Israel has always responded with retaliatory strikes that were many times the power of the original strike. I guess you could say they went Old Testament on them providing they wiped every last one of those bastards out.