Israel warned over Syria ‘aggression’

Iran has warned Israel it will regret its “latest aggression” on Syria and said the entire Muslim world should be ready to help.

Saeed Jalili, the head of Iran’s National Security Council, spoke in Damascus at the end of a three-day visit to Syria.

“Just as it regretted its aggressions after the 33-day, 22-day and eight-day wars, today the Zionist entity will regret the aggression it launched against Syria,” he said, referring to past wars between Israel and the Lebanese militant Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas groups.

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Israeli planes struck near Damascus last week, targeting ground-to-air missiles apparently heading for Hezbollah.

Syria said the strike targeted a military research facility and vowed retaliation, but has so far made no response.

Israel has not officially confirmed the attack but its intentions have been beyond dispute. During the 22 months of civil war in Syria, Israeli leaders have repeatedly expressed concern that powerful weapons could fall into the hands of its enemy Hezbollah.

For years, Israel has claimed that Assad and Iran have been arming Hezbollah, which fought a month-long war against Israel in 2006.

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The target was a convoy of sophisticated Russian SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles. Deployed in Lebanon, they could have limited Israel’s ability to gather intelligence on its enemies from the air.

Iran is Syria’s closest regional ally and Mr Jalili pledged his country’s continued support for Assad’s regime. “Syria stands on the front line of the Islamic world against the Zionist regime ... The Islamic world must show due reaction to the Israeli aggression.”

Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared that he is ready to risk being the country’s first astronaut sent into space. Iran launched a monkey into space last Monday, describing it as a successful step toward its plan to send an astronaut into space within five to six years.

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