WarSclerotic

Israel will not relent on its effort to push Iran ‎away from its borders and Prime Minister Benjamin ‎Netanyahu has “made the struggle against the Iranian ‎military’s entrenchments in Syria a top priority,” a ‎senior Jerusalem source said Tuesday.‎

The remarks followed reports that Iran and Syria ‎have signed a deal for military ‎cooperation as part ‎of which the Islamic republic ‎has pledged to rebuild ‎the Syrian army, which has ‎been severely depleted by ‎the seven-year civil war.‎

The official said the Israel Defense Forces ‎‎”will continue to act with full determination ‎against attempts by Iran to transfer military forces ‎and weapons systems to Syria.‎

‎”Diplomatically, we will continue with our effort to ‎‎[have the international community] exert pressure on ‎the Iranian regime, as we have seen it take its ‎toll,” he said. ‎

Iran’s Parliament subjected President Hassan Rouhani ‎to a public grilling on Tuesday over the country’s ‎economic crisis, and rejected his answers as “excuses.” ‎

Rouhani, who was summoned to answer to Parliament ‎amid growing public criticism of the regime, ‎admitted that U.S. sanctions on Iran were having ‎a serious impact on the economy, saying, “Many ‎people have lost their faith in the future of the ‎Islamic republic and are in doubt about its power.”‎

Commenting on the Iran-Syria deal, Public Security ‎Minister Gilad Erdan said, ‎”The pact between Syria ‎and Iran for rehabilitating ‎the Assad army is an ‎excuse and a facade meant to ‎grant legitimacy to the ‎Iranian forces remaining in ‎the area.‎

‎”But as far as we are concerned, no ‎machinations ‎keeping the Iranians in the area will ‎be ‎acceptable.”