Southern Syria, Syria – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renewed his threats against Iran, asserting that Tehran and its affiliated armed groups in the region are nearing collapse, during his inspection of Israeli forces in southern Syria, coinciding with the escalation of the military confrontation between the United States and Iran.
Netanyahu: Overthrowing the Iranian regime
On Wednesday, during a visit to Israeli forces on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, accompanied by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu said that Israel’s main mission is to bring down what he called the “terrorist regime” in Iran.
He added: “There is still work to be done, and the main task is to overthrow the terrorist regime in Iran. We are very close to achieving that, and we know that the entire axis will eventually collapse.”
Netanyahu stressed that Israel would not allow any armed force to be stationed on its borders, saying: “We will not allow any terrorist army to be stationed on our borders.”
Continued Israeli presence in southern Syria
Israel has maintained a military presence in an area it considers a “security zone” in southern Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2014. Its forces also control the buffer zone that was monitored by the United Nations force, which separates Israeli and Syrian forces in the occupied Golan Heights.
Damascus had previously condemned the Israeli moves, considering the entry of Israeli officials into the area a violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Since the fall of Assad, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes on targets inside Syria, in addition to carrying out frequent incursions, while Israeli officials have pledged to keep their forces in the security zone, while proposing the establishment of a wider demilitarized zone.
US-Iranian escalation and nuclear threat
Netanyahu’s remarks coincided with a new escalation between the United States and Iran, after Tehran spoke of targeting about 20 ships in the Gulf, including two American ships and eight oil tankers, which led to fires breaking out on a number of ships and pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel.
Netanyahu’s threats come in the context of a hardline Israeli stance on the Iranian nuclear program, as he asserted last August that Iran would not possess a nuclear weapon, whether an agreement was reached or not.
Israeli reports have previously spoken of the army’s readiness to act unilaterally against Iran, while continuing to prepare a target bank inside Iranian territory, at a time when Israel has kept its forces on alert in anticipation of developments in the confrontation.
