The Israeli military, which reports it has destroyed 86% of Syria's air defense systems after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, is saying there is an opportunity to hit Iranian nuclear facilities.
Officials with the Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that between the weakening of Iranian proxy groups and the fall of the Syrian regime, their chances have widened, reports The Times of Israel on Friday.
The Israeli Air Force has reportedly taken out 107 separate air defense components and 47 radar units. By the numbers, the forces destroyed 80% of the short-to medium-range Russian-made SA-22, or Pantsir-S1, and 90% of the Russian-made SA-17 medium-range air defense system, also known as the Buk.
The systems were challenging the IAF's mission to counter Iranian weapons deliveries to Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as attempts by Iran-backed groups to gain a foothold in Israel, dating back to 2013.
The IDF reports that as only a few air defense systems are left in Syria, the IAF can now operate freely across Syrian air space.
"The Syrian air defense array is one of the strongest in the Middle East and the blow caused to it is a significant achievement for the Air Force's superiority in the region," the IDF said in a statement.
The Israeli army announced earlier this week that it took positions in the Golan Heights buffer zone, which was set up in 1974 to separate areas under the control of Syria and Israel, reports the Russian news service TASS.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move was a temporary defense measure to curb threats to his country from Syria.
Thursday, Netanyahu, in an address to the people of Iran, said the Iranian axis is crumbling after the "chain reaction" started by Israel and said he hopes Iran can "be free" while achieving global peace, reports The Times of Israel.
Netanyahu, who spoke in English with Persian subtitles, said that Iran's leaders "spent over $30 billion supporting Assad in Syria" before the regime "collapsed into dust."
"Your oppressors spent billions supporting Hamas in Gaza," he said. "Today their regime lies in ruins. Your oppressors spent over 20 billion dollars supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon. In a matter of weeks, most of Hezbollah's leaders, its rockets, and thousands of its terrorists went up in smoke."
Israeli Army radio also reported that several security agencies are working to present options to political deal makers for potential attacks on the Iranian nuclear facilities, according to the Middle East Monitor.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military says that Iran, which was isolated by the fall of the regime in Syria, may push on with its nuclear program while developing a bomb, reports The Times.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says its space and nuclear programs are for civilian purposes. But U.S. intelligence and the U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) say Iran had an organized military nuclear program until 2003 and has continued to develop its program beyond what's needed for civilian purposes.
But now that Syria's air defense systems are crippled, the IAF can fly over Damascus when hitting Iran-linked targets in the Syrian capital, as well as send surveillance drones in without fear of them being shot down.
Israel's bombing campaign started on Sunday and Monday, hours after the Assad regime fell. It also hit Syria's airbases, weapons depots and production sites, and chemical weapons sites. Hundreds of missiles have been destroyed, as well as 27 Syrian fighter jets, 24 helicopters, and 25 Syrian Navy ships.
The IAF has also bombed out all border crossings between Syria and Lebanon except for one remaining open for pedestrian traffic, to keep weapons from reaching Hezbollah.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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