Israel has informed Moscow that it will no longer limit its actions to prevent Iran's entrenchment inside Syria to the south of the country. Israel's stated policy had previously been to limit operations against Iranian targets to southern Syria, including near the border with Israel in the Syrian Golan Heights and on the Syria-Jordan border.
The report, which appeared in London-based pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, follows Iranian Ambassador to Jordan Mostafa Moslehzadeh's interview with Jordanian newspaper Al-Rad on Friday, in which he denied Revolutionary Guard forces were stationed in southern Syria. According to Moslehzadeh, Iran was not active in southern Syria nor did it have any intention of maintaining forces there in the future.
"The possibility of a military campaign in southern Syria is closer than ever, as the attempts to reach a peace agreement with the rebels have failed. Nevertheless, Iranian forces will not take part in any military operation in southern Syria." He said that "as long as we are not under attack, we have no desire for a confrontation with regional elements." He warned Iran would, however, meet aggression against it with aggression. "We will not sit idly by," he said.
Meanwhile, a video clip posted to social media in recent days shows Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a member of that country's so-called moderate camp who has repeatedly insisted his country wants to live in peace, joining calls of "death to America" and "death to Britain" while attending a speech by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The authenticity of the video is in question, however, as Zarif's voice cannot be heard.
Also on Friday, the U.S. State Department warned the Syrian regime against an impending attack on the southwest of the country, in the area of Daraa.
The United States warned it would take "firm and appropriate measures" to protect a cease-fire in southern Syria if President Bashar Assad's forces move against rebels there.
The area in southwestern Syria, between the border city of Daraa and the Golan Heights, has emerged as a flashpoint in a wider standoff between regional archrivals Israel and Iran.
The U.S., Russia, and Jordan agreed last year to include Daraa in a "de-escalation zone" to freeze the lines of conflict. But government forces have recently dropped leaflets on rebel-held areas warning of an imminent offensive and urging fighters to lay down their arms, Syrian state media said Friday.
In a statement released Friday, the U.S. State Department said it was concerned by reports that Assad's forces were preparing for an operation in southwestern Syria. It warned the government against "any actions that risk broadening the conflict."
