Simultaneous Visits of Netanyahu and Velayati to Moscow

According to reports, in the next two days, the international advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and the Prime Minister of Israel will separately meet with the President of Russia. The purpose of the visit by Ayatollah Khamenei's advisor is to deliver messages from the Supreme Leader and the President of Iran, while the purpose of the Israeli Prime Minister's visit is to negotiate the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria. According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Ali Akbar Velayati, the international advisor to the Supreme Leader, arrived in Moscow on Wednesday, July 10, and upon arrival told reporters: "In the current sensitive situation, I am carrying the Leader's message to the President of the Russian Federation." According to this report, Mr. Velayati will meet with Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, on Thursday, July 11, to deliver the messages from the Supreme Leader and the President of Iran. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will also travel to Moscow. Mr. Netanyahu stated in his cabinet meeting on Sunday, July 7, that he is going to Moscow to reiterate his firm request for the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria to Russia. He emphasized that his country will not tolerate Iranian military presence in any part of Syria; "whether near the border with Israel or further away in Syria." On the same day, the T-4 or Al-Tiyas base, located in the suburbs of Palmyra in Homs province, was targeted by several missiles. While the Syrian government claims it has "repelled" this attack, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that during the "Israeli attack" on this airbase, "Iranian forces and their allied militias" were targeted. However, Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Defense Minister, expressed "ignorance" about this attack on Monday, stating that he read the report in the newspapers. The Israeli Defense Minister said on Tuesday that his army "will act every moment it detects the military presence of an Iranian in Syria." Following the Iranian rocket attacks on the Golan Heights, Israel conducted "the heaviest attacks on Syria" since the 1973 war against "Iranian targets" in various locations in Syria, and according to Avigdor Lieberman, "almost all of them were destroyed." Netanyahu's visit to Russia on Wednesday marks his tenth negotiation with Vladimir Putin regarding Iran in recent times. Meanwhile, John Bolton, the National Security Advisor to the U.S. President, stated in an interview with CBS that the issue of the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria will likely be discussed at the meeting between the Presidents of the United States and Russia on July 16. In recent months, Russian officials have also stated that foreign forces in Syria, including Iranian forces and Hezbollah, must leave the country. The simultaneous visits of the Israeli Prime Minister and the advisor to the Supreme Leader to Russia also occur while Iran is negotiating with Russia, China, and European countries to preserve the JCPOA after the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement.