Netanyahu: Israel Will Not Tolerate Iranian Military Bases in Syria

Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Islamic Republic during a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that Israel will not tolerate the presence of Iranian military bases in Syria. The Israeli Prime Minister stated that the main focus of their discussions on Tuesday, October 17, was Iran's efforts to establish a military base near Israel. According to the Associated Press, he said, 'Iran must understand that Israel will not allow such a thing.' The meeting between Mr. Netanyahu and the Russian Defense Minister took place a day after the Israeli army announced it had destroyed a Syrian air defense system near Damascus. Israel has largely kept itself out of the Syrian civil war but occasionally conducts airstrikes on convoys suspected of carrying weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The country is also concerned that Iran, as one of the main defenders of Bashar al-Assad's regime, is seeking to establish a military base in Syria. Israel and Russia have designed a mechanism to prevent military clashes between their aircraft in Syrian airspace. In another part of his remarks on Tuesday, Mr. Netanyahu claimed that if the global powers' nuclear agreement with Iran does not change, Tehran will have a nuclear arsenal within eight to ten years. According to a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister's office, he stated, 'If this agreement does not change,' Iran will acquire nuclear weapons. Israel is one of the main critics of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was reached in July 2015 between Iran and six world powers including the US, Russia, China, France, and the UK along with Germany. Under this agreement, Iran agreed to halt or suspend many of its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions against Tehran. However, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, on October 14, raised serious doubts about America's compliance with the JCPOA by not certifying Iran's adherence to the agreement. The ball is now in the American Congress's court, which has 60 days to decide whether to reinstate previous sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mr. Netanyahu's timeline regarding how long it would take for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons differs from his assessment a week ago, where he previously stated that Iran could achieve nuclear weapons 'within a few years.' The opposition of Israel and the US to the Iranian nuclear agreement comes as European countries support it, and in this regard, Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, is set to visit the US to encourage American lawmakers not to withdraw from the agreement. EU foreign ministers also urged the US Congress on Monday to preserve the nuclear agreement with Iran.