Israel
22 May 2023

Israel’s defence minister estimated that “since I took office, the number of Israeli strikes against the Iranian in Syria have doubled... We are working methodically to strike the Iranian intelligence capabilities in Syria. These strikes inflict significant damage to the attempts by the Revolutionary guard to establish a foothold a few kilometres from the Israeli border”. He further asserted that “Iran aims to expand its reach to the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and even the shores of the Mediterranean... This is a structure plan designed to threaten trade and flight route - both military and civilian - and to create a permanent threat in the maritime arena”.

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