JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and cabinet ministers visited Israel’s northern border on the Golan Heights overlooking Syria. They received a briefing from Israel Defense Forces chief of staff and other army officials.
“I am impressed by the big work the Israeli army is doing here to defend our borders, to defend our country,” Netanyahu said. “Our face is toward peace but we are ready for any scenario and I don’t recommend that anyone tries us.”
Israel has been warning the West that Iran is creating a land bridge from Tehran all the way to Israel’s border with Syria and has expressed its concern over Iran’s growing military presence in both Syria and neighboring Lebanon.
Middle East analyst Jonathan Spyer told CBN News that Iran is succeeding in its ambition and says the West needs to counter the Iranian aggression.
“The Iranians have the most sophisticated, far-reaching policy – unlike every other country looking at this region of Syria, Iraq and Lebanon,” Spyer said.
“The Iranians don’t see three countries. They see one space and they’re busy building up their forces, backing their friends, [and] facing down their enemies all the way along that long contiguous space between the Iraq/Iran border and the Mediterranean Sea.
“And that’s the real potent challenge to Western interests and I think the most urgent thing in a sense to get that in perspective: to start in a sense to build similar policy to the Iranians, to counter their policy of seeing this area as one space and seeing what pieces do we have on the board. How can we see those pieces move forward? How can we turn back the pieces being operated by our enemies?” he asked.
This article originally appeared on CBN News, February 8, 2018, and reposted with permission.