Syria threatened Thursday to retaliate for an Israeli airstrike and its ally Iran said there will be repercussions for the Jewish state over the attack that occurred on Wednesday.
Consequently, Damascus summoned the head of a United Nations mission in the Golan Heights
on Thursday to protest against the Israeli air raid which Damascus said
is a violation of a disengagement accord that followed the last major
war between the two countries.
Syria said Israel and it allies bore responsibility for the results of
the Israeli air raid near Damascus and said it had the right to defend
its sovereignty.
"Syria holds Israel and those who are protecting it at the Security
Council responsible for the results of the attack and confirms its right
to defend its land and sovereignty," state television quoted a letter
from the Foreign Ministry to the United Nations as say saying.
State media said Major General
Iqbal Singha, head of the UNDOF peacekeeping force, was summoned to the
Foreign Ministry where the protest was delivered.
This as U.S. officials confirmed Israel's attack describing it as a rare airstrike inside Syria. The target was a convoy believed to be carrying anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah.
The White House later warned Damascus against sending arms to Hezbollah.
Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul-Karim Ali said Damascus "has the option and the capacity to surprise in retaliation."
In Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying the raid on Syria will have significant implications for Israel.
Hezbollah condemned the attack as "barbaric aggression" and Syrian ally Russia said it appeared to be an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation.
In Israel, a lawmaker close to hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped short of confirming involvement in the strike. But he hinted that Israel could carry out similar missions in the future.
The Syrian ambassador said he could not predict when Damascus would retaliate. He told Hezbollah's al-Ahd news website that it was up to the relevant authorities to prepare the retaliation and choose the time and place.
Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi condemned the airstrike on state television, calling it a clear violation of Syria's sovereignty. Iran is Syria's strongest ally in the Middle East, and has provided President Bashar Assad's government with military and political backing for years.
Russia, Syria's strongest international ally, said Moscow is taking "urgent measures to clarify the situation in all its details."
"If this information is confirmed, we have a case of unprovoked attacks on targets in the territory of a sovereign state, which grossly violates the U.N. Charter and is unacceptable," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Whatever the motives, this is not justified."
Hezbollah, closely allied with Syria and Iran, said it "expresses full solidarity with Syria's command, army and people."
Hezbollah did not mention any convoy in the statement but said the strike aimed to prevent Arab and Muslim forces from developing their military capabilities.
The Syrian military denied the existence of any weapons shipment and said a scientific research facility outside Damascus was hit by the Israeli warplanes. It said the target was in the area of Jamraya, northwest of Damascus and about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the Lebanese border.
Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Jassem al-Shallal, who became in December one of the most senior Syrian army officers to defect, told The Associated Press by telephone from Turkey that the targeted site is a "major and well-known" center to develop weapons known as the Scientific Research Center.
Al-Shallal, who until his defection was the commander of the Military Police, said no chemical or nonconventional weapons are at the site. He added that foreign experts, including Russians and Iranians, are usually at such centers.
Regional security officials said Wednesday that the targeted shipment included sophisticated Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles, which if acquired by Hezbollah would enable the militants to shoot down Israeli jets, helicopters and surveillance drones. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Israeli lawmaker Tzachi Hanegbi, who is close to the prime minister, said pinpoint strikes are not enough to counter the threat of Hezbollah obtaining sophisticated weaponry from Syria.
"Israel's preference would be if a Western entity would control these weapons systems," Hanegbi said. "But because it appears the world is not prepared to do what was done in Libya or other places, then Israel finds itself like it has many times in the past facing a dilemma that only it knows how to respond to," he added.
He was referring to NATO's 2011 military intervention in Libya that helped oust dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
"Even if there are reports about pinpoint operations, these are not significant solutions to the threat itself because we are talking about very substantial capabilities that could reach Hezbollah," he added.
Syria's civil war has sapped Assad's power and threatens to deprive Hezbollah of a key supporter, in addition to its land corridor to Iran. The two countries provide Hezbollah with the bulk of its funding and arms.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu warned of the dangers of Syria's "deadly weapons," saying the country is "increasingly coming apart."
The same day, Israel moved a battery of its new "Iron Dome" rocket defense system to the northern city of Haifa, which was battered by Hezbollah rocket fire in the 2006 war. The Israeli army called that move "routine."
The Israeli army won't say whether Iron Dome was sent north in connection to this operation. It does note that it has deployed the system in the north before.
Syria and its allies, including Hezbollah, deny there is an uprising against the government and say what is happening is part of a conspiracy against Damascus because of its support for anti-Israeli groups.
Hezbollah said the attack is part of that conspiracy "that aims to destroy Syria, its army and vital role in the line of resistance" against Israel.
Syrian Opposition Coalition
The Syrian Opposition Coalition is expected met in Cairo on Thursday
after its leader Moaz al-Khatib declared on Wednesday that he is
willing to negotiate with members of President Bashar Assad's regime to
bring a peaceful end to the country's civil war, provoking an outcry
from opposition groups that insist Assad must step down first.
At a time when the meeting was dedicated for talks over the distribution
of financial funds donated to the coalition, member of the coalition
Samir al-Nachar stressed that al-Khatib’s statements shifted priorities
and raised questions.
In response, the Syrian coalition’s envoy
to Paris, Monzer Makhous, admitted to “Europe 1” radio that the
opposition showed “some flexibility” in the opposition’s stance, “since
Maaz al-Khatib is feeling responsible for solving this issue in light of
the ongoing disaster in Syria.”
“We are ready for dialogue
provided that neither Assad nor any of the officials close to him
participated in it since they are war criminals,” Makhous added.
For the full LBCI report, watch the Video above
REUTERS/LBCI