Netanyahu to Putin: Wherever ISIS is defeated, Iran enters

The Israeli Prime Minister, who traveled to Russia, described Iran's increasing role in Syria as a "threat to Israel, the Middle East, and the entire world" during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Wednesday, September 1, in Sochi, in the presence of reporters, Benjamin Netanyahu told the Russian President: "Mr. President! We are jointly defeating ISIS. This is an important issue; however, the bad issue is that wherever ISIS is defeated, Iran enters." He also emphasized: "One cannot forget for a moment that Iran threatens Israel's existence every day, equips and supports terrorist groups, and is the cause of terrorism." This is one of several comments made by the Israeli Prime Minister about Iran in the past week. Netanyahu had stated in a video released a day before his meeting with Putin that "Iran's aggressive behavior in the region has not changed since the JCPOA"; he also warned last week that his country would take "any necessary action" to prevent Iran or its agents from advancing to the border between Syria and Israel. According to reports, Vladimir Putin expressed satisfaction with the improvement of relations between the two countries at the beginning of the meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister, but did not respond to Netanyahu's remarks about Iran in front of reporters. This meeting in Sochi is the sixth meeting between Netanyahu and Putin, primarily concerning Iran. The previous meeting of the two leaders took place about five months ago in the Kremlin. The Israeli Prime Minister arrived in Sochi early Wednesday, a resort on the Black Sea and the summer residence of the Russian President. Yossi Cohen, head of the Mossad, and Meir Ben Shabbat, Israel's new national security advisor, accompanied Benjamin Netanyahu on this trip. According to Israeli media, Netanyahu's government has already informed the United States about its requests from Russia. The Israeli government believes that the ceasefire in southern Syria, achieved and implemented two months ago with the support of the US and Russia, has ignored Israel's security needs, and its "specific request" is to expel Iranian forces and their allies from Syria. The head of the Mossad emphasized Israel's position on expelling Iran from Syria during a meeting last Friday with General Herbert McMaster, the US National Security Advisor. According to the Israeli website Walla, the Israeli delegation was very pleased that the US "fully understands Israel's positions and has agreed to continue contacts." However, other Israeli media had previously reported that the US position had "not changed" as a result of negotiations last Friday at the White House. On the other hand, the Walla news site quoted Israel Katz, Israel's Minister of Transportation and Intelligence, stating that "Iran's foothold in Syria should not be allowed to solidify; the US must regain its leadership role in the region." This Israeli minister added, "The policy of the previous US government failed and allowed the Iranian axis of evil to reach a position with the help of Russia that has a significant impact in the region and threatens America's allies in the region." According to this Israeli website, Netanyahu's government is trying to use the anti-Russian atmosphere created in the US to encourage Washington to impose more sanctions against Iran and Hezbollah. Throughout the Syrian civil war, Iran and Russia have been the two main allies of Bashar al-Assad's government. A few days ago, Bashar al-Assad praised the assistance of Iran and Hezbollah. Despite claims of "advisory" Iranian presence in Syria, Iranian military personnel or citizens from other countries organized by the Revolutionary Guards are fighting alongside Hezbollah in Syria; Israel considers the presence of some of these forces near its border with Syria as "a new danger." The Israeli government has stated that raising global public awareness about this "danger" is on its agenda, and Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to the United Nations and several other countries in the coming weeks with this goal.