Following Iraeli strikes on Syria and the F-16I shootdown by the Syrian Air Defense Forces, the Israeli military accused Syria and Iran for the current escalation and said that they are “playing with fire”.
“The Syrians and the Iranians, from our point of view, are playing with fire. The Syrians are playing with fire when they allow the Iranians to attack Israel from their soil. We are willing, prepared, and capable to exact a heavy price on anyone that attacks us. However, we are not looking to escalate the situation,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, Head of the International Media Desk of the Israeli Defense Forces, said according to the IDF’s official statement.
Original footage showing #Iranian UAV infiltrating and then shot down over Israel, and #IDF strike on Iranian command vehicle in #Syria pic.twitter.com/Sz6poAOdjc
— Jonathan Conricus (@LTCJonathan) 10 February 2018
The IDF statement said:
“The IDF sees the Iranian attack and the Syrian response as severe violations of Israeli sovereignty. The IDF will continue to act against any attempt to infiltrate Israeli airspace and will act with determination to prevent any breach of Israeli sovereignty.“
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry called to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria commenting on the IDF strikes in central Syria.
“Moscow is deeply concerned with the latest developments and attacks on Syria. The danger of the escalation of tensions within and around the de-escalation zones, which have become an important factor in reducing violence in Syria is of particular concern,” the Russian state-run news agency Sputnik quoted the ministry’s statement. “We urge all the involved parties to exercise restraint and avoid any steps that could lead to aggravation of the situation. We consider it necessary to unconditionally respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and other countries of the region.”
The Russian ministry also noted that the creation of threats to Russian military personnel involved in anti-terrorist operations in the country unaceptable.
