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Israel threatens Iran with ‘own Vietnam in Syria,’ refuses to rule out preemptive strike
Ramping up his war-mongering rhetoric, Israel’s defense chief has said Syria can become Iran’s ‘Vietnam’ and vowed to prevent Teheran from gaining a foothold there. It comes after Tel Aviv threatened Iran with a preemptive strike.
Israel, which makes incursions into Syria almost on a daily basis now, pummeling the war-ravaged country with missiles under the pretext of targeting “Iranian positions” there, has warned Iran against establishing “a ring of fire” around Israel and vowed retaliation.
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"It is no secret that Iran is trying to establish a ring of fire around our country, it is already based in Lebanon and is trying to establish in Syria, Gaza and more," hawkish Israel’s defense minister Naftali Bennett charged, speaking at a conference Sunday.
Noting that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would “work tirelessly” to fend off alleged “Iranian threat”, Bennett said that it’s high time Israel moves from defense to offense.
"We need to move from containment to attack”
Doubling down on his claim that Iran seeks to establish a permanent presence in Syria, Bennet invoked the disastrous Vietnam war to back up his point.
“We say to Iran: Syria will become your Vietnam.”
Iran has repeatedly dismissed the allegations, pointing out that its military advisers embedded with the Syrian armed forces have been in the country legally, as they were invited and permitted to stay by Damascus, contrary to the Israeli forces that violate international law with their bombing raids.
Bennet unleashed his dire warning days after Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz indicated that Tel Aviv would not shy away from a pre-emptive military strike against Iran if it thinks Teheran is making strides in the development of nuclear weapons.
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“It’s an option. We will not allow Iran to produce or obtain nuclear weapons. If the only option left to us is the military option, we’ll act militarily,” Katz told Italian Corriere Della Sera daily on Friday.
While Israel, estimated to have undeclared nuclear arsenal between 80 and 90 warheads, is fomenting fears over Iran’s possibly obtaining nukes, it remains conspicuously tight-lipped about its own endeavors in the field. Following a test of a mysterious “rocket propulsion system” by Israel on Friday, Teheran accused the Jewish state of testing a “nuke-missile, aimed at Iran.” It is believed that the Israeli military might have launched little-known Jericho ballistic missiles, said to be capable of carrying a sizeable warhead.
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