Netanyahu and Putin Meeting Focused on Iran's Presence in Syria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who traveled to Moscow, stated during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Wednesday evening, July 20, that his country will "neutralize any attempt to violate Israel's sovereignty, whether in the sky or on the ground." According to Reuters, Netanyahu added that his discussions with the Russian leader are "focused on what is happening in Syria and Iran." Before leaving Israel, he also mentioned that his country's opposition to Iran's military presence in Syria is the main topic he will address with the Russian leader. However, Vladimir Putin did not publicly respond to Netanyahu's emphasis on Iran at the beginning of their meeting, preferring to highlight the "strengthening of economic and military cooperation between Russia and Israel in a positive direction." This was Netanyahu's third meeting with Putin in the past six months; since Russia began its military intervention in the Syrian civil war in September 2015, Netanyahu has visited Putin in Russia nine times and has had numerous phone conversations with the Russian leader, all centered around Israel's opposition to Iran's military presence in Syria. A day before Netanyahu's trip to Moscow, Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian president's special envoy for Syria, and several other Russian political and military officials visited Jerusalem to meet with Netanyahu. According to Israel's Channel One, Netanyahu told the Russian delegation on Tuesday night that Israel does not accept Iran's military presence anywhere in Syria and emphasized the need to adhere to the 1974 agreement between Israel and Syria. According to Barak Ravid from Israel's Channel Ten, Netanyahu's new talks with Putin are significant as they come ahead of a meeting next Monday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland. In recent days, Israel has strengthened coordination with the U.S., particularly regarding the necessity of expelling Iran from Syria, by appointing Nitzan Alon, a senior military officer, as the head of the "Iran Project" at the Ministry of Defense; Colonel Alon had traveled to Washington for initial discussions with U.S. officials. Additionally, some Israeli media, such as the Debkafile website, which primarily focuses on military and security analysis, have assessed that Netanyahu's trip to Moscow this time clarifies the fate of a potential military confrontation between Israel and Iran concerning Syria. After his previous meeting with Putin a month and a half ago, Netanyahu reported to his government that "Russia has decided to expel Iran from Syria." However, according to Debkafile, Netanyahu believes that Putin has not fulfilled his previous promise, and therefore, this meeting is significant for Israel's decision to confront Iran's military presence and Hezbollah in Syria. Hours before the Netanyahu-Putin negotiations began, Israeli media reported that the Israeli army fired a Patriot missile at a drone that entered Israeli airspace from Syria and had flown about ten kilometers in Israeli airspace for 15 minutes, while Netanyahu was monitoring the incident on his flight to Moscow. Israeli media, citing their military, identified the drone as belonging to the Syrian army. Additionally, the attack on Sunday night this week on the T-4 military base of the Syrian army in Homs province was attributed to Israel by both the official Syrian news agency and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Although Israel remained silent about the responsibility for the Sunday attack in Syria, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's defense minister, stated on Monday during a visit to the border with Syria that his country "will act whenever it identifies the presence of Iranian soldiers in Syria, regardless of whether they are 80 kilometers or 40 kilometers from the border with Israel." Amos Yadlin, former head of Israel's military intelligence, wrote on Twitter that the Sunday night attack on T-4 indicates the continuation of the confrontation between Israel and Iran in Syria. On the other hand, Sergei Shoigu, Russia's defense minister, warned both Iran and Israel against the use of military force in Syria. General Shoigu, in an interview published on Wednesday ahead of the simultaneous arrival of Netanyahu and the Iranian leader's advisor in Moscow in the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, stated that Russia calls for patience from both Israel and Iran. Netanyahu's trip to Moscow coincided with the presence of Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor for international affairs to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the Russian capital. However, according to Tasnim, Velayati stated that "the presence or absence" of Netanyahu in Russia "does not affect our strategic mission." The Iranian leader's advisor referred to the Israeli Prime Minister as a "wandering man" who "travels to a different point in the world every day and makes baseless and illogical statements that no one pays attention to." Velayati's comments refer to Netanyahu's recent travels to Europe and other countries to garner support for Israel's stance against the global powers' nuclear agreement with Iran and the Islamic Republic's regional policies. The Kremlin has scheduled Putin's meeting with Velayati for Thursday, one day after the Putin-Netanyahu meeting. According to Tasnim, Velayati will deliver a letter from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and a message from the President of Iran to Putin.