WarSclerotic

Israel and the US will offer incentives to Russia later this month in a bid to curb Iran’s influence in Syria, which could include recognizing Syrian leader Bashar Assad, a London-based Arabic newspaper reported Sunday.

The incentives will be raised at an unprecedented trilateral meeting of national security advisers scheduled for later this month in Jerusalem, according to a report in Asharq al-Awsat that quoted western diplomats and was cited by Israel’s Kan public broadcaster. The report did not clarify what the other proposals could be.

US National Security Adviser John Bolton, Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and Russian Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev will meet in Jerusalem later this month, according to an announcement made by the White House on Wednesday, just minutes before the Knesset voted to disband and to set new elections for September 17.

The rare tripartite meeting is expected to deal mostly with Syria, specifically Iran’s efforts to entrench itself militarily near Israel’s borders, and the planned withdrawal of US troops from the war-torn country.

Moscow is a close ally of Tehran and Damascus, while Jerusalem and Washington are the Islamic Republic’s arch-enemies.

US National Security Adviser John Bolton, left, is greeted by Russian Security Council chairman Nikolai Patrushev in Moscow, Russia, October 22, 2018. (Press Service of the Russian Security Council via AP)

Ben-Shabbat met Bolton last month in Washington, mainly to discuss Iran and “other destabilizing actors,” a senior US administration official said at the time.

Bolton and Ben-Shabbat reiterated their “shared commitment to countering Iranian malign activity & other destabilizing actors in the Middle East and around the world,” the US national security adviser tweeted.

Ben-Shabbat last met with Patrushev in September 2018 in Moscow to discuss “regional issues in the Middle East, including the situation in Syria,” according to a readout provided by the Prime Minister’s Office. “National Security Adviser Ben-Shabbat emphasized that Israel insists that Iranian forces must leave all of Syria,” the readout said.

Toward the start of the Syrian civil war, the Israeli military established a number of “red lines” that if violated would result in a retaliatory strike, including any attacks — intentional or otherwise — against Israel.

This photo released on the official Facebook page of Syrian Presidency shows Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, speaking with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, in Damascus, Syria, April 16, 2019. (Syrian Presidency Facebook page via AP)

They also included Iranian efforts to establish a permanent military presence in Syria and attempts to transfer advanced munitions to the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorist group.

In recent years, Israel has acknowledged conducting hundreds of airstrikes in Syria in response to these “red line” violations.

Early Sunday morning, the Israel Defense Forces attacked several military targets in Syria in response to two rockets that were fired from the country at the Golan Heights on Saturday night.

Helicopters and planes attacked several targets connected to the Syrian army, including two artillery batteries, several observation and intelligence outposts, and an SA-2 type air defense unit, the IDF said in a statement.

An IDF airstrike hits Syrian military targets, June 1, 2019. (IDF spokesperson’s unit)

Syrian media reported that Israel also struck several targets connected to Iran and is proxy militias in Syria, in the area of al-Kiswah, south of Damascus. These strikes reportedly targeted weapons caches and a military training facility.

The Israeli army refrained from specifying whom it believes fired the two rockets at the Golan Heights — one of which landed inside Israeli territory, the other in Syria — but said it “sees the Syrian regime as responsible for all attacks against Israel from Syrian territory.”

The Israel Defense Forces attacked several military targets in Syria in the predawn hours of Sunday morning in response to two rockets that were fired from the country at the Golan Heights on Saturday night.

Beginning at 4:10 a.m., Israel Defense Forces helicopters and planes attacked several targets connected to the Syrian army, including two artillery batteries, several observation and intelligence outposts, and an SA-2 type air defense unit, the IDF said in a statement.

Syrian media reported that Israel also struck several targets connected to Iran and is proxy militias in Syria, in the area of al-Kiswah, south of Damascus. These strikes reportedly targeted weapons caches and a military training facility.

The Israeli army refrained from specifying whom it believes fired the two rockets at the Golan Heights — one of which landed inside Israeli territory, the other in Syria — but said it “sees the Syrian regime as responsible for all attacks against Israel from Syrian territory.”

The observation and intelligence targets bombed by Israel were located near the border with the Golan Heights, while the artillery and anti-aircraft batteries were south and south-west of Damascus, the IDF said.

During the exchange, Israeli air defense systems fired in response to Syrian anti-aircraft fire, but no projectiles were believed to have landed inside Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday morning that Israel will continue to respond to any attacks on its territory.

“We are not prepared to tolerate firing into our territory and we react with great force against any aggression against us,” the prime minister, who also serves as defense minister, said in a statement. “This is a consistent policy that I lead and so we will continue to do for the sake of Israel’s security.”

Syria’s official SANA news agency said that three Syrian soldiers had been killed and seven injured in the attack, and claimed that Syrian air defenses intercepted missiles coming from the Golan Heights. The attack also caused material damage, the report said.

The incoming rockets did not trigger alert sirens. These alarms are typically only activated in cases where a projectile is heading toward a populated area, rather than an open field.

The launches came less than a week after a limited clash between Israel and Syria.

On Monday, a Syrian anti-aircraft battery fired at an Israeli fighter jet that was flying within Israeli airspace. Shortly afterward, in response, the IDF attacked the battery and destroyed it, reportedly killing a Syrian officer and soldier. A military vehicle was also said damaged in the attack.

Saturday night’s rockets appeared to be a relatively long range variety, reportedly fired from the Damascus area, some 35 kilometers (22 miles) away, similar to an attack earlier this year aimed at the Hermon.

The Hermon is located in the northern tip of Israel’s Golan Heights. In addition to a popular ski resort, the area is also home to a number of military installations.

In January, Iranian troops in Syria fired a medium-range, Iranian-made missile at Mount Hermon in what the IDF said at the time was a “premeditated” attack aimed at deterring Israel from conducting airstrikes against the Islamic republic’s troops and proxies in Syria.

The incoming projectile was shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.

Last Saturday, Syria said its air defenses shot down a number of missiles fired from Israel, a day after making a similar claim.

Toward the start of the Syrian civil war, the Israeli military established a number of “red lines” that if violated would result in a retaliatory strike, including any attacks — intentional or otherwise — against Israel.

They also included Iranian efforts to establish a permanent military presence in Syria and attempts to transfer advanced munitions to the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorist group.

In recent years, Israel has acknowledged conducting hundreds of airstrikes in Syria in response to these “red line” violations.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The head of Hezbollah warned on Friday that if the US went to war with Iran the whole Middle East would “erupt,” and Israel and Saudi Arabia would suffer.

“All American forces and interests in the region will be annihilated, and Israel and Saudi Arabia will pay the price,” Hassan Nasrallah said.

US President Donald Trump, “his administration, and his intelligence know well that any war on Iran will not remain confined to Iran’s borders,” the head of the Iran-backed terrorist group said in a televised speech. “Any war on Iran will mean the whole region will erupt.”

Nasrallah warned that Hezbollah was a force to reckon with, and said that Israel was vulnerable.

“We have precision missiles in Lebanon, and enough to be able to change the face of the region,” he said.

“Israel is strong but is now at its weakest point. The Zionist entity is afraid of missiles from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Iraq,” he said. “They’re suffering from ruptures in all areas and lacking in leadership.”

Hezbollah supporters take part in a rally to mark the anti-Israel al-Quds day in Beirut, Lebanon, May 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Nasrallah on Friday also slammed a proposed US peace deal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that Trump has dubbed “the deal of the century.”

“It’s a void deal… a historic crime,” he said of the plan, which has already been rejected by the Palestinians.

“This deal is a loss of Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic rights,” Nasrallah said.

Hezbollah is listed as a terrorist group by the United States.

Thousands of Iranians joined annual rallies in support of the Palestinians on Friday, also rejecting the US peace plan.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has been drafting the long-awaited peace plan, the economic aspects of which are to be presented at a conference in Bahrain next month.

Hezbollah supporters take part in a rally to mark the anti-Israel al-Quds day in Beirut, Lebanon, May 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

The United Nations earlier on Friday said it would not be taking part in that meeting on June 25 and 26 in Manama.

In December 2017, Trump broke with decades of bipartisan policy to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in a move that prompted the Palestinians to cut all contacts with his administration.

Israel insists the whole of Jerusalem is its “eternal, indivisible capital.” The Palestinians demand the city’s eastern sector as the capital of their long promised state.