Netanyahu: Israel and European Powers Agree on the Need for Iranian Forces to Withdraw from Syria

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, while outlining the achievements of his recent European trip, stated that "the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria is a process, and European powers also agree with Israel's position on the necessity of reaching an agreement on this matter." According to Israeli media, Mr. Netanyahu on Sunday, June 9, during a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, referred to his travels in Europe last week and said: "My focus on this trip was primarily on (countering) Iran's military presence in Syria and achieving an international agreement on this issue; I went to Europe for this purpose, and to a large extent, our goal was achieved." The Israeli Prime Minister added, "I have made it clear that Israel will not tolerate the presence of Iranian soldiers and their allies anywhere in Syria" and stated, "We will firmly confront any Iranian attempt to establish a military presence in Syria and any attacks from Iran." Benjamin Netanyahu met with Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, on Monday, Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, on Tuesday, and Theresa May, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, on Wednesday; in all three meetings and other work programs in Europe, he focused on Iran. On Thursday, in a speech in London, he declared that "the JCPOA is dead" and saw no need to insist that European leaders withdraw from the JCPOA, emphasizing that Israel's current goal is to create a sense of urgency to expel Iran and "tens of thousands of Afghan and Pakistani Shia fighters and Hezbollah" from Syria. Hours before Mr. Netanyahu's report to his government on the results of his trip to Europe, Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, rejected the existence of an agreement between Israel and Russia to push back Iranian forces and Hezbollah from southern Syria. In an interview with British media, Bashar al-Assad stated, "There is no agreement between Russia and Syria's enemy," and that Russia has not decided for Syria. The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that there is an agreement between Russia and Israel, stating that during a meeting ten days ago between Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Defense Minister, and his Russian counterpart, General Sergei Shoigu, it was agreed that Iranian forces and their allies would be removed from the borders of Syria and Israel. Kommersant added that Israel has also agreed to refrain from any actions that would harm Bashar al-Assad's forces in the civil war in southern Syria. Bashar al-Assad, in discussions with weekend media in Britain, stated that Iran and Hezbollah came to Syria at the invitation of the legitimate Damascus government, but it is the US and Britain that have an illegal presence and have "invaded" Syria. The latest statements from the Israeli Prime Minister regarding "Israel's continued firmness in confronting Iranian forces and their allies in Syria" come as Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, stated on Friday that Israel has been "suffocated since the rocket attacks on the Golan" and has "done nothing since that day." According to Tasnim, Hossein Salami, in a speech before Friday prayers on "Quds Day" in Tehran, said, "When the Zionists bombed the T-4 base, they did not expect to receive a response; however, a response was given in the Golan, and dozens of missiles flew, sending the message that if you respond, we will turn the heart of Tel Aviv to dust." The words of the senior IRGC official come as US and Russian officials confirmed several subsequent Israeli attacks on "Iranian targets" in Syria. Israel itself has also confirmed some of the subsequent attacks. Meanwhile, while Iran continues to claim that its forces in Syria are "advisory," reports published in some Iranian media indicate that greater casualties have been incurred by these forces. According to Iranian media reports, funeral ceremonies for several more "defenders of the shrine" who have recently been returned to Iran have been held in several cities, although they apparently were killed in battles against the opposition forces of Bashar al-Assad's government. IRNA, the official news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran, reported the burial of Mohammad Mahdi Fariduni in Fars province, stating that he was born in 1987 and was the sixth "martyr defender of the shrine" from the city of Fasa in this province who was killed in Syria on June 3. Additionally, an interview was conducted with the father of Khalil Takhtinejad, who also appears to have been killed in Syria on June 3, as the "second martyr defender of the shrine from Hormozgan province." According to ISNA, Khalil Takhtinejad's body will be buried on Tuesday, June 11, in Bandar Abbas; he had been sent to Syria only a month earlier. The body of Gol-Agha Moradi, a 19-year-old from Afghanistan, who was a member of the Fatemiyoun Brigade, composed of forces trained and dispatched by the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Syrian war fronts, was also returned to Iran as the "youngest martyr defender of the shrine" and was buried in Mashhad in recent days.