We will probably witness a major war between Israel and the Iranian axis this year, Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, the commander of IDF Operations, said during an interview with Galatz, Israel’s Army Radio on Monday this week.
“The year 2018 has the potential for escalation, not necessarily because either side wants to initiate it, but because of a gradual deterioration. This has led us to raise the level of preparedness,” according to Alon.
He added that his assessment was based on what is currently happening in Syria where the Russian and Iranian-backed pro-Assad axis is in the process of eliminating the last pockets of resistance.
Those opposition hubs, located in Idlib and eastern Ghouta, are where hundreds of Syrians have been killed in a ruthless offensive by Assad’s forces over the last week, and in east Syria where the Iranian axis seized the border town Abu Kamal this week after an extremely bloody battle.
Alon said that Assad’s victory will free up Iran’s proxies in Syria and give them the possibility to prepare for war with Israel.
“We are not allowing these things to happen without our involvement. We are acting and will continue to act,” the IDF operations commander warned.
Alon’s rare interview with Israel's Army Radio Galatz came a day after Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu issued a similar warning during the annual security conference in Munich, Germany.
Holding up a piece of what was left of an Iranian drone which was downed by the IAF on Saturday Februrary10, Netanyahu compared Iran’s aggressive imperialistic drive in the Middle East with the rise of Nazi Germany and called upon the world to take action against the Islamic Republic before it is too late.
“Don’t test Israel’s resolve,” Netanyahu warned while he conveyed a clear message to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad not to allow further Iranian entrenchment in Syria.
