Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, must sever ties with Iran if he wants to be part of the region and return to the Arab League.
Gantz made the remarks at a briefing organized by the Washington Institute for Middle East Policy on Monday, during which Gantz reviewed Israel’s security policies. He also touched on relations with the United States, the situation in Ukraine, the nuclear deal with Iran, Iranian activities in the region, and the security escalation that Israel is witnessing in recent operations.
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Israel wants to strengthen intelligence cooperation against “Iranian violations,” in cooperation with Washington and its regional partners. Furthermore, Israel is working to counteract arms deals and threats that Iran is generating against Israel in Syria, the defense minister said.
“Recently, we have seen more stability in Syria. I see activity growing between Damascus and the Arab League countries. If Assad wants to be part of the region, he will have to stop his counterproductive relations with Iran and the terrorism that Iran deploys in Syria,” Gantz said.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has halted a regional initiative that was promoted by his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, to return Syrian regime president Bashar al-Assad to the Arab League, according to a report byI srael Hayom.
Issued on April 2nd, the report said that Netanyahu began to promote this policy in 2019, basing the concept on the idea of international reconciliation with Assad’s victory. Netanyahu supported the policy in exchange for an agreement on the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
