Netanyahu's Advice to Soleimani: Instead of Interfering in Our Elections, Focus on Your Bases in Syria

Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Israel, on Wednesday, February 3, addressed Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, stating, "Instead of interfering in the elections in Israel, it would be better for him to assess the situation of the bases he wants to establish in Syria." These remarks from Netanyahu came after the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida claimed in its Wednesday issue that Soleimani's assessment is that launching missile strikes against Israel could lead to Benjamin Netanyahu's downfall in the Israeli elections. The Israeli parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in two and a half months on April 9, 2019. Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the ruling Likud party who seeks to retain the prime ministership, stated hours after the publication of Al-Jarida's report, while Israel had conducted multiple clear attacks on the Quds Force targets in Syria in recent days, "As long as I am Prime Minister, I will not cease fighting them... Iran is our greatest enemy." According to Israeli media, during a visit to his military forces and their exercise in southern Israel, he added that Iran wants to establish a third front alongside those created by Hezbollah from Lebanon and by Hamas and Islamic Jihad from Gaza, by military deployment in Syria along the Golan Heights. Netanyahu also mentioned that Israel has formed a strong alliance with "Arab and non-Arab countries and others to counter the threats from Iran"; although it seemed that his implicit reference was to Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia, he refrained from explicitly naming them. The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida claimed on Wednesday that Qassem Soleimani visited the Daraa province in southern Syria last Thursday (January 27); this location is where a ground-to-ground missile was fired towards the Hermon Heights in northern Israel on Sunday, January 30, but the Israeli "Iron Dome" system diverted and destroyed it. According to Al-Jarida, Soleimani's "secret" visit lasted two hours under strict security measures from 8 to 10 PM on Thursday. The newspaper also added, citing a source, that Iranian forces in this part of Syria have approached within 40 kilometers of the Israeli border to establish a military base so that if a conflict arises between Israel and Hezbollah and Israel attacks Iran, Iran can target Israel with missile strikes from the Daraa base. According to Al-Jarida, which has also been reflected in Israeli media, Soleimani told his forces during this visit that Netanyahu is intensifying his attack policy to win the spring elections, but military action against Israel will lead to his downfall in the elections. The Kuwaiti newspaper also reported that in recent days, during a meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, it was decided that Iran would ask Syria to respond to any Israeli attack against this country and that Tehran would inform Russia that if Israeli attacks on Iranian forces in Syria continue, Iran will no longer consider any red lines for itself and will respond in whatever way it deems necessary. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard or the Iranian Supreme National Security Council have not responded to this report. However, Bashar Jaafari, Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations, warned Israel during a Security Council meeting on Tuesday night that if it repeats its attack on Damascus airport, Syria may also target Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport. Meanwhile, Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, on Wednesday, February 3, urged Israel to stop its "coercive" attacks on Syria, stating that Russia has conveyed messages to Israel in this regard. If Al-Jarida's report about Soleimani's recent presence in Syria's Daraa province for preparing a missile attack against Israel is correct, then Israel's unconventional attack on Syria on Sunday afternoon can also be explained. Israel conducted an airstrike on Damascus airport during daylight, while it had carried out "thousands" of its attacks over the past three years against "Iranian and Iranian-allied targets" at midnight. Some Israeli military analysts and experts regarding the unusual attack on Sunday stated that a moving target was available, and if it had not been attacked, the chance of the operation would have been lost. Netanyahu's presence in the African country of Chad on that day highlighted the unusual nature of the Sunday afternoon attack, as attacks on significant targets are usually conducted during the Prime Minister's presence in that country; he himself stated on Sunday in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, that when I am on a political mission, our attacks continue. Israeli media added that at the time of Israel's Sunday afternoon attack on Damascus airport, an Iranian Islamic Republic airplane flying towards the Syrian capital, aware of the Israeli missile attacks, changed its course and opted to return to Iran. An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed that the country's attacks were in response to the ground-to-ground missile fired from Syria towards the Hermon Heights, and Israel attacked four targets associated with the Quds Force. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 21 people were killed in the Israeli attack on Damascus airport on Monday morning, including 12 Iranian forces. Iran has not commented on the deaths of its forces in that attack. However, last week when Benjamin Netanyahu advised Iran to withdraw its "military advisors" from Syria, Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Revolutionary Guard, responded that Iran "will keep everything it has in Syria" and that Israel "should fear the day when precision-guided missiles rain down on it."