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Strikes Against Iranian Targets in Syria:
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Since March 30, Israel has conducted four airstrikes in Syria targeting militants affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
- On March 30 and 31, two Syrian soldiers in Damascus were injured in separate airstrikes launched from the Golan Heights.
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On April 2, Israel struck a Hezbollah-affiliated arms center at the Dabaa military airport in Homs, killing two IRGC officers.
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On April 4, a strike on Damascus killed two Syrian civilians and caused material damage.
- These
strikes come shortly after several U.S. operations in late March
targeted Iran-affiliated militants. Three Syrian soldiers and 16
Iran-backed militants were killed in these operations.
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According
to the Pentagon, the U.S.' strikes occurred in response to an Iranian
attack on a coalition base near the city of Haskalah, which killed one
U.S. contractor and wounded several others, causing four traumatic brain injuries.
Iranian and Syrian Response:
- On
March 24 and 25, Iran-backed militants launched several retaliatory
attacks on U.S. forces at the Conoco and Green Village posts in Syria,
injuring three soldiers.
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According to U.S. military officials, this strike showed "a higher level of sophistication" than preceding attacks.
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Shortly after the April 2 airstrike, Israel brought down an "aerial tool" flying from Syria to the Golan Heights that was believed to be a retaliatory effort from IRGC forces.
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The Syrian government condemned Israel’s strikes, accusing the state of “push[ing] the region towards a comprehensive escalation and a new phase of instability.”
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Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanani stated that Iran “reserves the right to respond at an appropriate time and place to the terrorism of the fake Israeli regime.”
Background:
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The Israeli strikes represent the continuation of Israel’s MABAM, or "war-between-wars" military policy.
- Inaugurated
in 2013, the policy aims to strategically strike Hezbollah and other
Iranian proxies located in Syria who have bolstered their presence since
the beginning of the Syrian Civil War.
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Currently, around 900 U.S. military personnel
are stationed in Syria to prevent the resurgence of ISIS and aid
coalition forces, and these forces have been targeted by IRGC-linked
militants.
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