Russia and
other world powers must move to limit Iran's growing military strength in Syria
because it poses a regional threat, the director-general of Israel's
Intelligence Ministry told Reuters in an interview.
Israeli
officials estimate Iran commands at least 25,000 fighters in Syria, including
members of its own Revolutionary Guard, Shi'ite militants from Iraq and
recruits from Afghanistan and Pakistan. It also coordinates the activities of
the powerful Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
"As we
speak, relations between Iran and Syria are getting tighter," said Chagai
Tzuriel, the top civil servant in Israel's Intelligence Ministry, who spent 27
years in Mossad, including as station chief in Washington.
"Iran
is in the process of putting together agreements, including economic
agreements, with Syria to strengthen its hold, its ports and naval bases
there," he said in a rare interview. "There is a need for Russia and
other powers to work to avoid the threat that Iran ends up with military, air
and naval bases in Syria."
Israel has
long warned about the threat from Iran, especially its perceived desire to
acquire nuclear weapons, but now sees a rising territorial squeeze, with
Tehran's influence reaching in an arc from Lebanon in the north to Gaza in the
south, where it has links to Islamist groups.
Iran
maintains it wants a nuclear capability only for domestic energy and scientific
research purposes, and has so far largely stuck to the terms of the nuclear
deal agreed with the United States and other world powers in 2015.
Tzuriel said
the conflict in Syria, now in its seventh year, had created a number of
imbalances in the region - whether between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, Iran and
Turkey, Kurds and Arabs, Turkey and Syria, Russia and the United States - that
needed to be kept contained and shifted back into equilibrium.
A lot of the
responsibility for that rests with Russia, which has become the biggest player
in the region and is capable of exerting the most influence, he said.
"When
it comes to Iran, the United States, Russia and other powers need to understand
that (growing Iranian influence in Syria) is going to be a constant source of
friction," said Tzuriel, adding that it could reduce Moscow's own
influence in the region and set back the gains it has made in Syria.
"Russia
has a vested interest in keeping that threat contained."
'WHAT DO WE
WANT?'
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met President Vladimir Putin five times
since Sept. 2015, largely in an effort to ensure communications are open and
there are no misunderstandings over Syria, where Israeli fighter planes have
occasionally bombed targets, including last week. Syria fired a missile in
response and Moscow called in Israel's ambassador to discuss the Israeli raid.
"We
don't view Russia as the enemy and I don't think they view us as the enemy
either," said Tzuriel, but he suggested Russia would need to work with
others, including the United States, to keep a lid on the forces at play in
Syria.
"We
have to assume that the Russians want stability, they want a Pax Russiana in
the region," he said.
"If
they want a stabilization, they can't do it alone. They need the United States,
they need regional powers, they need opposition parties and militias, even
those that are not exactly Russia's cup of tea."
After a
career in intelligence gathering, Tzuriel drew a distinction between intelligence
and strategy. After years of conflict and more than 500,000 dead, it was still
incumbent on the parties tied to Syria to fix a strategic outcome.
"We
have to decide what we want (in Syria) or what we don't want," he said.
"The main strategic threat right now is what happens in Syria, it is the
key arena. There's no place in the world that has so many elements wrapped up
in it."
(Reuters)
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