Following Syria Strikes, IDF Moves Iron Dome to North
The IDF has moved two Iron Dome anti-missile installations to northern Israel. The move follows media reports according to which Israel took out two weapons shipments in Syria.
The installations were moved overnight Saturday, and have been set up in Haifa and Tzfat.
The Iron Dome can shoot down medium and long-range missiles and rockets. It has been used with agreat degree of success to protect cities in southern and central Israel from Hamas rocket attacks.
The move comes as Israel faces growing tension with its northern neighbors, Syria and Lebanon, over alleged airstrikes. IAF planes reportedly flew over Lebanese airspace to hit targets in Syria.
An Israeli source confirmed Saturday that Israel had bombed “game-changing” weapons meant for Hizbullah on Friday. According to the New York Times, the IAF took out Fateh-110 missiles sent by Iran.
If Hizbullah had Fateh-110s, it would be capable of hitting Tel Aviv.
A second series of explosions was reported overnight in Damascus. The official Syrian news agency SANA claimed that Israel carried out an airstrike on the Jamraya research center.
The Syrian opposition reported that the explosions hit strategic military sites.
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Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Feisal Mekdad on Sunday called Israel's bombing of a weapons transport in Syria a “declaration of war"
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Feisal al-Mekdad on Sunday called Israel's bombing of a weapons transport in Syria a “declaration of war.” Speaking in an interview on CNN, al-Mekdad said that Israel was siding with “Islamist terrorists” to unseat President Bashar al-Assad, and that Syria would respond “at the time and in the manner that it chooses to.”
Israel has not confirmed or denied the claims that it had attacked a convoy in Syria that was transporting Iranian produced missiles to Hizbullah over Syrian territory. “We don't respond to these kinds of reports,” an IDF spokesperson told foreign news media Sunday.
Also condemning the strike was Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, demanding that the Arab League take “a decisive stand against Israeli terrorism.” Mansour complained that the League had remained silent “for too long” in the wake of “Israeli hooliganism,” and demanded that the League “immediately condemn the Israeli action against the Assad regime.”
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, on the other hand, expressed “understanding” for Israel's need to defend itself from terror groups. “Israel made it clear that it would respond if it suspected that advanced weapons systems were being handed over to Hizbullah,” he said. “Israel will act to defend its security,” and such actions must be “respected,” he added.
Iran Ready to 'Train' Syria Army, Says Commander
Iran is ready to help "train" the Syrian army if Damascus seeks such assistance, the commander of the Islamic republic's army ground forces, General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, said Sunday, according to reported. "As a Muslim nation, we back Syria, and if there is need for training we will provide them with the training, but won't have any active involvement in the operations," he said in remarks reported by the official IRNA news agency.
"The Syrian army has accumulated experience during years of conflict with the Zionist regime (Israel) and is able to defend itself and doesn't need foreign assistance," he added.
His remarks came as a senior Israeli source said on Sunday that the Jewish state carried out an air strike near Damascus overnight, targeting Iranian missiles destined for Lebanon's Shiite Hizbullah movement.
"The target was Iranian missiles which were destined for Hezbollah," he told the AFP news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Iran has remained a steadfast ally of President Bashar al-Assad's regime throughout the Syrian conflict, which according to figures released by the United Nations, has killed more than 70,000 people since it erupted in March 2011.
source:Arutz 7
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