The Israeli raids that hit Syria’s southern, eastern and central parts during the night of Tuesday-Wednesday - in which two Syrian soldiers and five fighters believed to be affiliated with Iran were killed - involved 10 new elements regarding the timing and content that distinguished them from hundreds of strikes that targeted Iranian and Syrian sites in recent years.
1- The extent: The Israeli bombardment targeted four Syrian governorates, namely Deir Ezzor, Homs, Hama and As-Soueida. According to the official Syrian News Agency (SANA), “one of our military sites was targeted near Salkhad, south of As-Soueida. As a result, two soldiers were killed and four others were wounded.”
“Hostile air targets have appeared from east and northeast of Palmyra, and missiles have been fired at some of our military positions in Kabajeb, west of Deir Ezzor and in the Al-Sukhnah area” in Homs countryside. Shelling was later reported in areas near Salamieh in Hama countryside.
2- Repetition: Israel has targeted at least three times the Deir Ezzor countryside, and sources in Tel Aviv have spoken of the presence of a “base and missile warehouse” in that area. It also published satellite images of the site before and after the bombardment. Al-Sukhnah was also targeted by raids that are believed to be Israeli. On June 4, at least nine pro-Damascus elements, including four Syrians, were killed in Israeli raids on central Syria.
3- New areas: The previous attacks were targeting Damascus airport, its countryside and the center of the country, including Masyaf, in addition to the countryside of Aleppo and Deir Ezzor. But it is the first time that the bombardment hits the countryside of As-Soueida in southern Syria and near Jordan. UN Envoy Geir Pedersen expressed to the Security Council weeks ago his “concern over reports of Israeli attacks.” The bombing came after a series of demonstrations took place in As-Soueida, which included calls for the withdrawal of Iran and Hezbollah from Syria.
4- An area for international and regional arrangements: At the beginning of 2018, understandings between the US, Russia and Jordan were announced, which included the “withdrawal of non-Syrian fighters”, in reference to Iranian organizations with a median depth of 65 km from the Jordan border and from the disengagement line in the occupied Golan. Since then, reports have emerged of Iran’s return, but through the recruitment of Syrian youth into the countryside of As-Soueida and Daraa.
After the understandings, it was reported that Russia had taken control of Tel Al-Hara, the highest strategic point in Daraa. Remarkably, the raids on Tuesday-Wednesday night targeted a radar station in Tel Al-Sahn in the countryside of As-Soueida, according to the Soueida 24 network. It wasn’t clear whether the attacks were Iranian or Russian.
5- Tensions in Daraa: The raids on the countryside of As-Soueida came in parallel with a conflict over neighboring Daraa between the Russia-backed Fifth Legion and the Fourth Division in the Republican Guard led by Major General Maher al-Assad, brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The conflict revolves around attracting young men and ex-fighters, as well as consolidating influence on the ground. Some Western officials considered this a “violation of the tripartite understandings beginning of 2018.”
6- Russian silence: There was no official Russian stance on these raids, knowing that Syria has three Russian missile systems, the advanced S-400, S-300 and S-300. The wave of bombings comes after President Vladimir Putin’s appointment of the Russian ambassador to Damascus, Alexander Efimov, as a “presidential envoy” in the Syrian capital.
7- Bilateral coordination: Syrian and Iranian official media reported that there was extensive coordination between Tehran and Damascus in recent days to enhance economic, military and cultural cooperation after Washington started implementing the “Caesar Act”.
8- The Caesar Act: There were raids at the beginning of the month and in the past weeks, months and years. However, this was the first bombing since the implementation of Caesar Act, which provides for Iran’s withdrawal from Syria as one of the six conditions to stop its effects.
9- US-Russian dialogue: The attacks came after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov announced Moscow’s willingness to discuss with Washington the Syrian issue. They also occurred following contacts between US Special Representative for Syria Engagement Ambassador James Jeffrey and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin.
10- A new minister and silence: As usual except during the election campaigns, Israel has not declared responsibility for the recent raids. But those where the broadest since Benny Gantz took over the Ministry of Defense, succeeding Naftali Bennett. The latter announced upon the end of his post that Iran started withdrawing its forces from Syria, and significantly reduced its presence and removed a number of its bases. Former Israeli military intelligence chief, General Amos Yadlin, however, said on Wednesday that the “Iranians and their allies will search for ways to respond to and deter Israel.”
