Israel and Iran have been on an increasingly inevitable collision course in Syria in recent months, as Israel has vowed not to let Iran build a presence there and has escalated attacks against Iranian targets across the border. On Tuesday night, Israel had struck targets in Syria after detecting what Israeli officials said were suspicious military movements, reportedly killing a further eight Iranians. In part, Israel wants to delay Iranian entrenchment in Syria as much as possible and make sure it comes at the highest cost possible. There were no immediate statements from the Iranian government after the Israeli strikes. Tehran’s strong support for Assad has allowed it to deepen its foothold across Syria, but Iranian media downplayed Tehran’s role in the violence, depicting the clashes instead as between Israel and Syria.

Source: Washington Post May 10, 2018 08:02 UTC