Iran on Sunday vowed to defeat any Israeli attempt to harm its role in Syria, saying the era of “hit and run” attacks by Israel there was over, Reuters reports.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khateebzadeh told a virtual weekly news conference, “The Zionist regime (Israel) is well aware that the era of hit and run is over and therefore they are very cautious.”
“Iran’s presence in Syria is advisory and naturally if anyone disrupts this advisory presence, our response will be a crushing one,” Khatibzadeh added.
The comments come days after IDF fighter jets attacked military targets in Syria belonging to the Iranian Quds Force and the Syrian army.
The attack last Tuesday was carried out in response to the placement of explosives near the border fence with Syria in Israeli territory, by a Syrian squad operating under Iranian guidance.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights later said a total of 10 fatalities were reported in the Israeli air strikes, including five Iranians and two pro-Iranian fighters.
“I do not confirm the martyrdom of Iranian forces in Syria,” Khatibzadeh said on Sunday, according to Reuters.
While Iranian leaders deny that the Islamic Republic has a military presence in Syria, Iran is a key supporter of the Assad regime in Syria, having providing the regime with both financial aid and military advisers against a range of opposing forces since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011.