The Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah said on Monday that Iran should prevent Israel from "setting rules that limit Iran's movement in Syria."
Deputy Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem told pro-Syrian government television channel al Maydeen that he expects a response by Iran to the deaths of at least seven Iranian military personnel in the April 9 missile strike on the T4 air base near Homs, which Iran has blamed on Israel.
"This deliberate killing that took place. Iran must take the right stand and decision to prevent Israel from setting rules that limit Iran's movement in Syria, based on an agreement between Iran and Syria," Qassem said.
"Therefore we expect something. So, it is an attempt by Israel to draw borders that save it from waging a war and prevent the other side from moving forward. This will not happen."
Israel has long said Iran is expanding its influence in a belt of territory that stretches across Syria from the Iraqi border to the Lebanese border.
Israel maintains that it will not allow Iran to entrench its military in Syria and is believed to have carried out multiple airstrikes on convoys carrying potentially game-changing weapons from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon over the years.
As Iran's efforts to tighten its grip on Syria increase, Israel has been accused of hitting several Iranian assets in the war-torn country.
The strike on T4 has enraged Iran, which vowed to exact vengeance on Israel.
In a press conference in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said, "Israel will receive a painful blow for what it did at the T4 base. The days when the Zionist regime would hit and run are over.
"The resistance forces and Syria can defend their territorial integrity and national sovereignty. … Israel will sooner or later receive the necessary responses to its recent crime and aggression. … I suggest to the Israelis to refrain from foolish steps if they want to continue their treacherous existence. Iran is capable of destroying Israel."
