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The Israeli military has destroyed about 90% of Iran’s military infrastructure in Syria, Israeli defense officials told The Jerusalem Post on October 23.
According to the officials, Israeli attacks have almost completely curbed Iran’s ability to transfer weapons to Syria, to manufacture weapons on the country’s soil and to establish a base in it.
The last Israeli attack on Syria was on October 21. The attack targeted the outskirts of the capital, Damascus. A surveillance radar and an airport were reportedly hit. However, there were no casualties. This was the first such attack in well over a month.
Israeli officials revealed that periods without attacks are usually the result of an Iranian decision to suspend the smuggling of weapons to Syria, in order to try and find a new route to trick the Israeli military. The officials said that the recent attacks severely damaged Iran’s smuggling routes from sea, air and land.
The officials went on to claim that ability of the Syrian military to produce weapons and ammunition has also been damaged.
While it is currently impossible to verify the claims made by the Israeli officials, it should be noted that the situation on the ground in Syria is different from what they described. In the last few years, Iranian presence in the grew significantly. Very recently, Iranian-backed forces there even began to launch attacks on U.S. forces.
Israel stepped up its attacks on Syria this year. At least 26 attacks have been documented so far. These attacks claimed the lives of 30 service members and civilians. Dozens others were wounded. Heavy material losses were also reported.
Attacks on Syria will not likely stop any time soon. The country’s major security and economic issues are keeping it occupied, with no ability to fully deter Israeli.
