Liberman: Israel Will Not Tolerate Any Iranian Shelter in Syria

Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman stated that his country will not tolerate any Iranian military presence in Syria at any cost, as accepting Tehran's military presence in Syria means tightening the pressure around Israel's neck. Liberman made these remarks on Tuesday, April 9, two days after an attack on the T-4 airbase in the vicinity of Palmyra in Homs province. According to Israeli media, the defense minister expressed ignorance about the perpetrator of this attack, saying, 'I don't know what happened there and who attacked.' He had stated the previous day that Israel's military actions in Syria had resumed but did not provide further details. Unlike the attack two months ago on 'Syrian and Iranian targets' in Syria, following an Iranian drone incursion into Israeli airspace, Tel Aviv has remained silent regarding its responsibility for the attack on Tuesday. Several former Israeli military officials, such as General Eitan Ben Eliyahu, a former commander of the Israeli Air Force, have assessed that Israel carried out this attack. In his remarks on Tuesday, Liberman said, 'Factors can prevent Iran's presence in Syria so that there is no need for military force, and we hope they do the right thing.' His implied reference seems to be to the role Russia could play in influencing Iran. Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that relations between Israel and Russia regarding military attacks in Syria have deviated from the coordination of previous years. The Russian military was the first to announce that two Israeli fighter jets attacked the T-4 airbase with eight missiles from Lebanese airspace without entering Syrian airspace, but five missiles were intercepted by Russian air defense systems. In this context, Israel confirmed on Tuesday that the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador in Moscow and requested an explanation regarding the attack on Syria. Russian news agency Itar-Tass also reported that Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, called for preventing the situation from worsening during a meeting with Gary Koren, the Israeli ambassador in Moscow. The Israeli ambassador was summoned a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the attack on Syria as a 'dangerous development.' The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 14 people were killed in the T-4 airbase attack, including several Iranian fatalities. Iran stated that the bodies of seven Iranian soldiers killed in this attack were transported from Damascus to Tehran on Tuesday for burial in their hometowns. Media close to the Revolutionary Guards referred to these casualties as 'defenders of the shrine.' Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on international affairs, who traveled to Damascus, stated on Tuesday, 'Israel's crime in targeting the Syrian airbase will not go unanswered.' The Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported that the confrontation between Israel and Iran in Syria has intensified and has moved beyond covert warfare. In this context, '14 killed including Iranian forces' were reported in the attack on the Syrian airbase. Russia and Syria attributed the attack on the Homs airbase to Israel. Reactions in Israel to the attack against a Syrian army airbase included a 'request from the U.S.' for a Security Council vote on a resolution regarding chemical attacks in Syria. The U.S. is seeking a 'multinational military response' to Syria's 'chemical attacks.' Khamenei's advisor reacted to the airstrike in Homs: 'It will certainly not go unanswered.' The bodies of seven Iranian soldiers killed in the Syrian airbase attack were brought to Tehran. Donald Trump canceled his participation in the Americas summit to discuss the situation in Syria.