Netanyahu: Iran Has Brought 80,000 Fighters from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Syria to Attack Us

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that the Islamic Republic of Iran has brought '80,000 Shiite fighters from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan' to Syria to carry out attacks against Israel and to 'convert the Sunni majority' of Syria. Netanyahu also stated that his country has contributed to 'the security and stability of the region and beyond the Middle East' by bombing the bases of Shiite forces allied with Iran in Syria. According to Israeli news agencies, Netanyahu's remarks were made on Thursday, June 14, at an international internal security conference in Jerusalem, attended by internal security ministers from the U.S. and twenty other countries. The Islamic Republic of Iran has sent its military forces to Syria and Iraq in the form of 'Defenders of the Shrine' to fight against the opponents of Bashar al-Assad and the Islamic State (ISIS), and has dispatched a number of Afghan and Pakistani Shiites to Syria under the banners of 'Fatemiyoun Brigade' and 'Zainabiyoun Brigade'. A significant number of these forces, who have been killed in these two countries, have been buried in several cities in Iran. In the past year, Israeli officials have expressed serious concerns about 'the dangers posed by the consolidation of Iran's military presence in Syria' and have confirmed attacks on some 'Iranian targets' in Syria, but Netanyahu's statements are among the rare instances where Israel's attacks on Iranian-aligned Shiite militia positions are confirmed in more detail. According to Netanyahu, Iran's action of bringing '80,000 Shiite fighters from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan to Syria and utilizing them is a formula for igniting another war in the region that could have a religious nature and lead to the migration of millions to Europe and conflict and terrorism in many other countries.' The Israeli Prime Minister stated, 'It is clear that we will not allow them to do this; we will fight them; we have bombed the bases of Shiite militias and in doing so, we have helped the security of your countries and the security of the world.' Netanyahu displayed a map of the region, with the geography of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen shaded in black, stating that '96% of the Syrian population is Sunni, and by bringing in Shiites, Iran not only wants to attack Israel but also wants to convert Sunnis to Shiism.' Last month, after being targeted by a rocket attack from the Syrian Golan Heights, Israel conducted 'the heaviest attacks on Syria' since the 1973 war against 'Iranian targets' in various locations in Syria, and according to Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, 'almost all of them were destroyed.' Several other attacks in Syria have also been attributed to Israel, and Netanyahu threatened that 'even at the cost of a direct war with Iran, he will not allow Iran and its allies to have a permanent military presence in Syria.' However, Iran emphasized that the 'Resistance Front' responded to previous Israeli aggressions in Syria with rocket attacks five weeks ago. Although Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stated last Friday in Mashhad during the last Friday of Ramadan, coinciding with anti-Israeli demonstrations on 'Quds Day' in Iran, that the events on the night of the rocket attack on the Golan Heights made Iran's connection to these attacks clearer, he also claimed that 'since that day, the Zionist enemy has not done anything wrong.' Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad emphasized in a recent interview with the Arabic-language Al-Alam network that the presence of Iranian forces in Syria has been 'advisory' but added that his country reserves the right to grant military bases to Iran if necessary. Bashar al-Assad, like Iran, accused Israel of supporting Sunni opponents in the seven-year civil war in Syria and stated that his country has effectively been at war with Israel. While Israel has emphasized that it has only intervened in this bloody and costly crisis when its security and national interests were at stake since the beginning of the Syrian civil war. Before raising its voice against the 'dangers posed by the consolidation of Iran's military presence in Syria' at the regional and global levels, Israel had determined the transfer of heavy and semi-heavy weapons to Hezbollah from Syrian territory as the most important 'red line', but recently it has emphasized that these 'red lines' have expanded. In his speech on Thursday at the internal security conference in Jerusalem, Netanyahu also stated that as the territories under ISIS control in the region have been limited, Iran has tried to expand its areas of influence. According to Netanyahu, despite ISIS's failure in the region, loyal forces to it still have a base in the Sinai Desert in northern Egypt. Netanyahu also highlighted a significant decrease in terrorist operations within Israel from 2015 to this month, stating that while there were 64 attacks in one month at the peak of the 'knife intifada', this number has approached zero this month. He mentioned that Palestinian attackers came with the aim of 'becoming martyrs' and wanted to kill as many Israelis as possible, but when they managed to minimize casualties from dozens of their attacks, their 'martyrdom' became worthless. He also stated that if his country wanted to deter attackers solely by arresting them, it would not succeed, and almost 70% of every attack against military and civilians, regardless of whether it caused harm or not, resulted in the attackers being killed, and with this 'simple yet serious' formula, the situation was controlled. He noted that his country has maintained a balance between 'security and human rights.' These explanations coincide with news that the United Nations General Assembly condemned Israel for its 'excessive and disproportionate use of force' against Palestinians in Gaza. In this context, Netanyahu's emphasis on countering Iran's presence in Syria comes ahead of meetings with three European leaders.