Following anonymously-sourced reports claiming that IRGC Qods force commander Qasem Soleimani had suggested that Iranian strikes within Israel could prompt a defeat for Prime Minister Netanyahu in April elections, Netanyahu remarked that "instead of interfering the elections, Soleimani would do well to check the state of the Iranian bases that he is trying to establish in Syria". "Our policy is clear and it will not change", he continued, adding that "we are determined to prevent Iran from militarily entrenching itself in Syria against the State of Israel".