Israeli warplanes launched a major attack on the Syrian capital Damascus shortly after midnight on Friday.
During the attack, three fighters were killed and seven others were wounded, which activated the anti-aircraft defense of the Syrian army.
While Israeli strikes on Syria have occurred almost weekly over the past few months and even years, many have noted that the timing comes right after Vladimir Putin was in Iran, where he met with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts.
#Israel strikes targeted #Damascus
-16 #Syrian & “#Iranian” killed & injured in military airport & Saida Zainab
– 17 Israeli attacks since in 2022
– July 2 targeted W/Syria >Lebanon border– SYR Air Defenses engaging missile strikes over Damascuspic.twitter.com/LVh8lUnqel
— Ibrahim Hamidi Ibrahim Hamidi (@ibrahimhamidi) July 22, 2022
Following the attack, a prominent analyst in Syria said: “After the tripartite meeting of Putin, Raisi and Erdogan in Tehran, I predicted on Wednesday Israeli aggression in Syria” – considering that Israel sees any legitimacy for the regime in Tehran as a direct challenge and threat to its security interests – it is not surprising that the prediction came true.
�1️⃣ Iranian �� President Raisi hosts Turkish �� President Erdoğan and Russian �� President Putin for discussions about #Syria during 7th “Astana Trilateral”.
�2️⃣ Israel �� conducts a nocturnal surprise attack on �� affiliated military installations in #Syrianearby Damascus. pic.twitter.com/3qX0nc6t4x
– Samuel Doveri Vesterbye (@SamuelJsdv) July 22, 2022
Moreover, the Associated Press emphasized that during Putin’s trip, Iran issued its most significant pro-Moscow statement to date.
Russian President Vladimir Putin received strong support from Iran on Tuesday for his country’s military campaign in Ukraine.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei even said that the West opposes an “independent and strong” Russia.
Khamenei added that if Russia had not sent troops to Ukraine, it would have faced an attack from NATO.
A statement that echoed Putin’s own rhetoric and reflects close ties between Moscow and Tehran as both face crippling Western sanctions.
Khamenei told Putin the other day: “If the way is open to NATO, it will not recognize any borders,” and that the Western military alliance is “waging a war” to return Crimea.
A number of commentators link the meeting in Tehran, which was also attended by Erdogan (a member of NATO, remember), and Israel’s recent military action in Damascus, and point to it as a serious “message” to Iran and Russia.
The leaders discussed the conflict in Syria that has lasted more than a decade when Putin said during his meeting with Raisi that “our relations are developing at a good pace”, adding that the two countries “will strengthen their cooperation on international security issues and contribute to the solution of the Syrian issue”.
It is important to note that the Russian Gazprom reached a long-term agreement for 40 billion dollars with Iran’s state oil company.
“This memorandum of understanding will constitute the largest foreign investment agreement in the history of Iran’s oil industry,” reported the Iranian news agency ‘Tensim’.
The agency said that the new agreement is taking shape against the background of a drastic and parallel reduction of Gazprom’s gas supply to Europe