The Syrian news agency announced Thursday night that there is no truth to media reports that Syrian President Bashar Assad has agreed to deploy long-range Russian Iskander missiles in Syria. The news agency insisted that the issue was not discussed during Assad's task with Russian President Dimitri Medevdev.
A Voice of Israel government radio analyst pointed out that sharp reactions from Israel and the United States, along with doubts in the Arab world, forced the denial after he stated he would welcome Russian missiles.