Tel Aviv: Assad fell as due to our war against Hezbollah-Iran

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said that the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime was a direct result of what he described as the war Israel waged against Hezbollah and Iran in Syria. He pointed out that Tehran had attempted for years to turn Syria into a launching pad for operations against Israel.

Sa'ar added in a statement to Sky News Arabia: "We operated intensively and intensively attacked the Iranians inside Syria and the weapons systems through which they tried to turn Syria into another base for their activity against Israel, and we strongly opposed that."

Sa'ar continued: "Assad was overthrown as a result of our war against Hezbollah and Iran. They were weakened. They were the two forces that had brought Assad to power since the beginning of the Syrian civil war. And when they were weakened, Assad fell."

Sa'ar emphasized that Israel does not oppose the results of that conflict, but rather sees it as a positive development, adding: "So, of course, we have no problem with it. We were happy to see Iran weakened on that front."

Regarding the future of relations with Syria, Sa'ar wondered: "Will Syria now adopt an independent strategy, or will it once again rely on an external power that will not bring it more stability? That is the question. That is the real question. But the Syrians will be the ones to decide."

Recently, tensions have escalated between Israel and Turkey in Syria, amid fears of a slide toward a direct confrontation that would likely have dire repercussions for the region. This comes in the context of repeated Israeli targeting of Syria, with Tel Aviv claiming it is working to protect its security interests.

T/S

ANHA