Iran has begun withdrawing its forces from Syria, outgoing Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said on Monday, before urging his successor, Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz, to maintain pressure on Tehran lest the trend reverse.
Iran has been a key supporter, along with Russia, of Syrian President Bashar Assad during Syria's civil war, sending troops as well as material and proxy Shiite militias.
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Israel, which monitors neighboring Syria intensively, has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria targeting suspected arms and troop movements by Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorists it controls.
"Iran is significantly reducing the scope of its forces in Syria and even evacuating a number of bases," said Bennett in his valedictory address.
"Though Iran has begun the withdrawal process from Syria, we need to complete the work. It's in reach. The job in Syria needs to be finished. We need to attack, put them on the defensive," he urged.
Israeli officials have suggested in the past that Israel's military operations were showing signs of success.
Iran, which is struggling economically under the burden of US sanctions and has also been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, has repeatedly said its military presence in Syria is at the invitation of Assad's government and that it will remain in Syria as long as its help is needed.
A senior aide to Iran's foreign minister, Ali-Ashgar Khaji, reiterated on Saturday that Tehran would continue working closely with the Assad regime and Russia to "combat terrorism" and find a political solution to the Syrian crisis, Iran's ISNA news agency reported.
Gantz for his part stepped into his new position on Monday vowing to "protect Israeli citizens from threats afar and threats nearby, trace them, and eradicate them."
"I pledge to do everything possible to advance diplomatic agreements and seek peace -- peace was, and remains an important Zionist wish," he said.
Gantz mentioned US President Donald Trump's Mideast peace initiative, saying Israel will promote the proposal, "including all its components."
The former military chief also spoke of his reasons for joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, noting the erosion of faith in government institutions by Israelis.
"I won battles, fought in wars, [but] this war I don't want to win, this war I am obliged to prevent," he said.
Part of this article was originally published by i24NEWS.
