Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that “the Iranian regime is suffering. It's trying to use its proxies to 'pin prick' in the Persian Gulf, and escalate the situation in Syria. We have to resist”. He went on to say that “we know something about this region. Iran single greatest threat on the horizon, they must not be allowed to get nuclear weapons. Going back to the JCPOA means giving Iran nuclear weapons. I will not let that happen”.

At a trilateral meeting of U.S., Russian and Israeli National Security advisers, Prime Minister Netanyahu, remarked that “Israel has acted hundreds of times to prevent Iran from entrenching itself militarily in Syria, while it actively and openly calls and works for our destruction. We have acted hundreds of times to prevent Iran from delivering increasingly sophisticated weaponry to Hizbollah, or to form a second front in the north against us from the Golan Heights”. He added that “Israel will continue to prevent Iran from using neighbouring territory as platforms to attack us, and Israel will respond forcefully to any such attacks”. U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton stated that “it is not a question about a disagreement about the outcome, but a mutual effort to find a way to make it happen”.

Prime Minister Netanyahu reaffirmed that “Israel will not allow Iran, which calls for our destruction, to entrench on our border; we will do everything to prevent it from attaining nuclear weapons”.

In Israel, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton stated that "neither Iran nor any other hostile actor should mistake U.S. prudence and discretion for weakness". He also indicated that in meetings with senior Israel officials “we reaffirmed our shared priority of confronting Iranian aggression throughout the region by continuing maximum economic pressure and increasing the cost of Iran’s malign activity”. Prime Minister Netanyahu asserted that “thanks to crippling American sanctions, Iran is facing unprecedented economic pressure as a result of its aggression”, adding that “I was pleased to hear President Trump make clear yesterday that pressure will continue and that pressure will increase”.

At a military exercise, Prime Minister Netanyahu warned that “I hear our neighbours from the north, south and east threatening our destruction. I say to our enemies: The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] has very great destructive power. Don’t test us.”

Syria state media reported that the military "confronted an Israeli missile aggression" near the Golan Heights. Later in the day, Prime Minister Netanyahu contended that "the chain of tests that we are dealing with is unending. We respond vigorously and with force to all attacks against us; however, we do not take action only after the fact. We deny the enemy's capabilities before the fact". Netanyahu added that "we are acting methodically and consistently to prevent our enemies from establishing offensive bases against us in our vicinity". 

The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against "sixteen individuals and entities associated with an international network benefiting the Assad regime", including a pair of companies based in Lebanon that "facilitated shipments of Iranian-origin petroleum to Syria".

A senior Israeli military official maintained that "Hizbollah's loyalty was and remains to the Supreme Leader of Iran, not to the citizens of Lebanon. As a direct result of this, the nation of Lebanon will pay a heavy price in the next campaign for cooperating with Shiite terror". He went to pledge that "Israel will not allow [Hizbollah] to fulfill its plans and the destructive ambitions that it and its patron Iran have... we will continue to thwart Hizbollah's efforts to threaten our security both overtly and covertly, as necessary. And if a war is forced upon [us], we will exact a heavy price from this organisation and from those who provide it cover - wherever is necessary".

Responding to comments by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who earlier in the day contended that Prime Minister "Netanyahu has said that they will destroy Iran", Netanyahu riposted that "Zarif is lying - again. Iran is the one that openly threatens, every day, to destroy the State of Israel. Iran continues to entrench itself militarily in Syria. And today, the IAEA reports that Iran is accelerating its nuclear program". "I repeat", Netanyahu added, "Israel will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons that threaten our existence and endanger the entire world". 

Syrian media reported "an Israeli aggression on the T-4 airport" that led to three casualties as well as "damage to an ammo depot and material damage to some structures and equipment". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu asserted that "Iran transfers $700 million to Hizbollah per annum", part of which "is transferred under diplomatic cover, by seemingly innocent means, to Lebanon and from there to Hizbollah". "These enormous amounts fuel the relentless aggression by Iran and its proxies in the region", Netanyahu continued. He added that "while we do not make light of Iran's threats, neither are we deterred by them because anyone who tries to hurt us will be hurt far worse... we proved it just last night". 

The U.S.’ diplomatic spokesperson asserted that “our maximum pressure campaign on Iran is designed to deny the Iranian regime, the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, the means to conduct its destructive foreign policy. Our campaign is working”. She elaborated that “the campaign is starving Iran’s proxies of the funds they rely on to operate on behalf of the regime”, citing examples including Hizbollah, Hamas, the Syrian government and Shiite militias in Iraq. She went on to affirm that “we will continue to apply maximum pressure on the Iranian regime to deny it the means to conduct its destructive foreign policy and compel the regime to negotiate a comprehensive new deal that addresses the full scope of its malign behaviour”, while also indicating that “there is a path forward and we will talk tomorrow if they would like to see the bright future that we believe is there for the Iranian people”. The spokesperson further indicated that “we do not want a war with Iran. We want to de-escalate with Iran. In fact, what we seek is to end economic sanctions, to end the maximum pressure campaign”.

Syrian state media claimed that Israel had targeted a military site in Quneitra, adding that the “aggression claimed the life of one soldier and injured another one”.

The U.S. special representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that “the [Trump] administration is pursuing three mutually reinforcing whole-of-government strategic objectives in Syria – the enduring defeat of ISIS, the removal of all Iranian-led forces from Syria and the resolution of the Syrian crisis through a political solution in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254”. “The Iranian regime’s malign activity has left us no choice but to pursue the withdrawal of all Iranian-commanded forces from the entirety of Syria”, Jeffrey elaborated. “Iran’s reckless behaviour makes the situation in Syria more dangerous… Iranian-backed forces use bases inside Syria to participate in violence again[st] the Syrian people and launch attacks against Israel”. He added that “Iran and its proxies threaten U.S. national security by sowing instability in the region that exacerbates tensions between communities and provides space for terrorist groups to thrive”.

In remarks at the celebration of Israel’s 71st Independence Day, Secretary Pompeo noted that the U.S. had supported Israel’s security "by applying maximum pressure against the single greatest threat to stability and security in the Middle East, and indeed, stability and security in Israel – the Islamic Republic of Iran". The Israeli envoy in Washington, Ron Dermer, argued that the U.S. exit from the JCPOA in May 2018 constituted “the most important decision affecting Israel’s future that the Trump administration made this past year”. “A year ago, an Iranian regime that vows and works to destroy Israel felt the wind at their backs and believed history was on their side”, Dermer remarked. “Today, that same evil regime faces hurricane force headwinds and fear falling into history’s dustbin”. He went on to thank the U.S. government “for rejecting the path of appeasement, standing up to Iran’s aggression and terror, and confronting the most anti-Semitic regime on the planet”. 

Syrian state media reported that the military's "aerial defences intercepted unidentified objects" inbound from Israel. 

Syrian state media reported that the military had "intercepted hostile targets coming from the direction of Quneitra." 

In an article on the March 2019 U.S. decision to recognise Israel's sovereignty in the Golan Heights, Secretary Pompeo argued that Syria "is a client of Iran and one of the most brutal regimes on earth", adding that "if Israel doesn't maintain control of the Golan, Iran, the world's largest state sponsor of terror, or one of its proxies, will gain the strategic high ground". 

U.S. Central Command indicated that remarks by a senior military official in the U.S.-led counter-ISIS campaign, who had stated that "there's been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria", "ran counter to the identified credible threats". CENTCOM's statement added that "OIR [Operation Inherent Resolve] is now at a high level of alert as we continue to closely monitor credible and possibly imminent threats to U.S. forces in Iraq". 

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz posited that "things are undoubtedly heating up, and Iran - over the last few weeks - has come under 'atomic' pressure. The economic sanctions are breaking the neck of the Iranian economy and there is now an additional, even more powerful wave of American sanctions. We are starting to see the Iranians lose their balance". Steinitz also assessed that "if there is some sort of conflagration between Iran and the U.S., between Iran and its neighbours, I'm not ruling out that they will activate Hizbollah and Islamic Jihad from Gaza, or even that they will try to fire missiles from Iran at the State of Israel". 

The leader of an Iraqi militia sanctioned by the U.S. reportedly revealed "the creation of a special brigade to liberate the Golan Heights", adding that "we want to inform the Zionist regime [i.e Israel] that we will not allow their puppet Takrifi groups to shed Muslims' blood with the Zionists' support". 

In a speech on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that "in the face of Iran, our policy is clear: in the military field - an aggressive containment of Iran's attempts to establish itself militarily near our borders. And in the political arena - pressure, pressure and more pressure". "In the face of threats of annihilation", Netanyahu continued, "Israel will not extend its neck to slaughter... we are capable and determined to defend ourselves, by ourselves". 

Iran's envoy to the UN reiterated the position that "the Golan is and will remain an integral part of Syria". 

A senior U.S. military official asserted that "we're going to continue to reach out to our partners and friends in the region to ensure that we make common cause against the threat of Iran... I believe we'll have the resources necessary to deter Iran from taking actions that will be dangerous". He went on to indicate that "over the long term, we're going to reduce our forces in Syria, we recognise that, that's the guidance in which we're operating... that will be something that we will look at very carefully as we go forward". The U.S., he added, would maintain "a long-term presence in Iraq, focussed on the counter-terror mission". 

A senior Israeli military official assessed that "Hizbollah still has plans to invade the Galilee", and predicted that "we will thwart those plans". He also indicated that "in the area referred to as 'southern Syria', our operations have been very effective, and they have actually pushed the Iranians out... in those places, Iran's presence is so weak it's almost nonexistent".  

Foreign Minister Javad Zarif traveled to Damascus for meetings with President Assad and other senior Syrian officials. 

A senior IRGC official indicated that "today, in the area of [Iran's] regional achievements, there are tens of thousands of Lebanese Hizbollah forces around the borders of the Zionist regime [i.e Israel], and this is something the Americans cannot stomach". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that "we are determined to defend our land - even in the face of our greatest and bitterest of foes, who inscribe our destruction on their banners". "We will continue to act on all fronts", he added, "including in the north, because we are not prepared to allow anybody to entrench in strength and endanger the State of Israel". 

Citing military sources, Syrian state media reported that "warplanes of the Israeli enemy conducted an airstrike from Lebanese airspace on one of the military positions" in Hama province. The report acknowledged three casualties as well as "the destruction of some buildings". 

A senior Syrian official asserted that "Syria will liberate the occupied Golan by all means and all choices are on the table". He also argued that "the U.S. administration lies with regard to pulling out its troops, which are illegitimately deployed in Syria, and it isn't our duty to teach them to be honest". 

Commenting on the floods in Iran, whose scope he described as "unprecedented in the history of Iran", President Rouhani asserted that "those who did not let Iranian residing outside the country send aid to their own people should be ashamed". He also stressed that "neither the holy Quds [i.e Jerusalem] will be a base for occupiers, nor will the Golan Heights be separated from dear Syria". 

Upon the conclusion of an Arab League summit, Iran's diplomatic spokesperson indicated that "the Islamic Republic considers the atmosphere of the recent summit as positive compared with its previous meetings", and described the positions taken on the U.S. recognition of the Golan Heights as "positive and promising". However, he also stressed that "we strongly reject and condemn wrong and baseless claims on our country's interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries as well as claims on Iran's three islands". 

King Salman affirmed Saudi Arabia's "total rejection of any measures that would infringe on Syrian sovereignty over the Golan". He also urged "the international community to compel Iran-backed Huthi militias to stop their aggressive practices that have caused the sufferings of the Yemeni people and threatened the security and stability of the region".  

Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf asserted that "we reject President Trump's declaration on the occupied Golan, which is a Syrian Arab land". Al-Assaf also opined that "Iran's ballistic missiles pose a threat to regional and international security", adding that the Kingdom considered "Iran fully responsible for what is happening in Yemen". 

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif described the U.S. decision to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights as a "lawless announcement", and advised "our Arab and Muslim brethren" that the "U.S. and Israel will offer you handshakes, but no matter how much you kowtow, they will still steal your lands".

Prime Minister Netanyahu asserted that "we are operating on several fronts simultaneously. Not far from here are the Golan Heights, our sovereignty over which was recognised by President Trump three days ago... beyond the Golan Heights is Syria, and also Iran. Iran is constantly trying to bring precision long-range missiles, which are very advanced and very lethal, into Syria". "We are not prepared to accept this", Netanyahu continued, "and our activity against Iran's attempt to entrench militarily in Syria, to bring in advanced weaponry, is continuing all the time". 

Syrian state media reported "an Israeli air aggression" in Aleppo, claiming that "army air defences... downed a number of the hostile missiles". 

In a call with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, President Rouhani emphasised that "Iran is fully ready to implement all agreements made" in his visit to Iraq earlier in the month, adding that "cooperation and negotiation between the officials of the two countries, especially in the southern areas should be promoted". Rouhani also criticised the U.S. move to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, stating that "the worrying talk about violating the rights of the Palestinian and Syrian people, especially on the Golan Heights, are extremely dangerous for the security of the region". 

Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah responded to Secretary of State Pompeo's criticisms of Hizbollah during his visit to Beirut. "We feel happy when an official from the world's most powerful state is concerned over our role," Nasrallah asserted. "We feel happy when the administration of the Great Satan [i.e the U.S.] is annoyed by Hizbollah... [Pompeo's statements] made us more faithful that we are in the right position". 

In remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Prime Minister Netanyahu praised President Trump's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, asserting that Trump "made history" while underscoring that the Golan "is indispensable for our defence". Netanyahu went on to declare that "I have a message to all the anti-Semites out there - whether they live in modern Persia, in the palaces of Tehran or the bunkers of Beirut... the Jewish people do not bow down. We stand up. We fight. And we win". 

Following President Trump's decision to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the Iraqi government asserted that it "strongly opposes the legitimisation of the occupation of the Syria Golan".

Following President Trump's decision to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Saudi Arabia announced "its firm rejection and condemnation of the declaration" and "affirmed its firm and principled position on the Golan Heights that it is an occupied Syrian Arab land". The government further predicted that the move would "have great negative effects on the peace process in the Middle East, [and the] security and stability of the region". 

Secretary Pompeo indicated that he was "saddened... but not surprised" by regional and international responses against President Trump's decision to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. He also countered the suggestion that the move set a precedent, arguing that "this is an incredibly unique situation. Israel was fighting a defensive battle to save its nation, and it cannot be the case that a UN resolution is a suicide pact". 

Following President Trump's decision to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, President Rouhani opined that "nobody would ever imagine that someday somebody would take office in America and grant a land to a usurper, against international rules and regulations". 

The U.S. added "dozens of new vessels involved in illicit oil shipments" from Iran to Syria in an update to a November 2018 advisory. A senior Treasury Department official noted that "the U.S. has made it clear to the maritime shipping community that we will not tolerate the use of petroleum as a mechanism to finance rogue regimes in Iran and Syria", adding that "as Iran and Syria attempt to adapt their illicit tactics and shift to new vessels, we will continue to provide these updates to the shipping community". 

Meeting with President Trump at the White House, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that "I have a simple message to Israel's enemies: We will do whatever we must do to defend our people and defend our state". Netanyahu also hailed President Trump's decision to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, stating that the "proclamation comes at a time when the Golan is more important than ever for our security, when Iran is trying to establish bases in Syria to strike at Israel. From across the border in Syria, Iran has launched drones into our airspace, missiles into our territory". 

The U.S. special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, noted that "we know historically that Iran has given Hizbollah an average of $700 million a year... we have seen evidence of the impact [of U.S. sanctions] when the leader of Hizbollah makes a public appeal for charity. It speaks for itself. This is the kind of impact that we want". He added that "we know that we have denied the [Iranian] regime even in the short amount of time [since sanctions came into effect] many billions of dollars in revenue", and underscored that the U.S. held "talks with any government where we see sanctions violations or even potential sanctions violations". Hook went on to underscore that "we are... committed to ensuring that troops under Iranian command are out of Syria", and suggested Iran had a "vastly-under reported role in Yemen" despite having "no legitimate interest" in the country. "Giving [Iran] a foothold in Yemen", Hook argued, "allows them to threaten two straits of international commerce". 

Following President Trump's announcement that "it is time for the U.S. to fully recognise Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights", Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that "the continued disregard by the Trump administration for the rights of Muslims and Arabs has reached the abhorrent level of giving what is not their, be [it] al-Quds al-Sharif [i.e Jerusalem] or the occupied Golan to the aggressive Zionist entity". An Iranian diplomatic spokesperson indicated that "Iran will closely monitor all future developments and will adopt appropriate policies in cooperation and consultation with the Syrian government and other countries". Meanwhile, the Syrian government insisted that "the Golan is Syria, and it will return to the motherland sooner or later, no matter how long it takes". 

In an encounter with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Secretary of State Pompeo posited that "the ayatollahs have spent four decades spewing hatred, supporting terrorist violence and pursuing nuclear weapons for a war against a neighbour that wishes nothing more than to live in peace. The ayatollah [i.e Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei] has declared that the annihilation and destruction of Israel is his primary goal". "With such threats, a daily reality of Israeli life", Pompeo continued, "we maintain our unparalleled commitment to Israel's security and firmly support your right to defend yourself". 

Meeting with Secretary of State Pompeo in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Netanyahu praised President Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA and the imposition of U.S. sanctions against Iran. "What we see is that this pressure is working", Netanyahu remarked. "We need to increase it. We need to expand it. And together, the U.S. and Israel are working in close coordination to roll back Iranian aggression in the region and around the world". "I think there are ways that will intensify the pressure even more", he added. Netanyahu went on to indicate that "we will continue to take action as needed against the attempts of Iran to entrench itself militarily with dangerous weapons in Syria. There is no limitation to our freedom of action, and we appreciate very much the fact that the U.S. backs up our actions as we do them". "You can imagine what would have happened if Israel were not in the Golan", he continued. "We would have Iran on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It's time that the international community recognises Israel's stay in the Golan, the fact that the Golan will always remain part of the State of Israel". 

Iran's military chief of staff met with his opposite numbers from Syria and Iraq, pledging that "measures taken by the three countries will continue until terrorists are fully defeated". He also met with the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus. 

During a trip to Syria, Iran's military chief of staff argued that "all foreign troops who are present in Syria without coordinating with the Syrian government will have to leave the country sooner or later". 

Ahead of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo to Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated that "I will discuss with him our efforts to thwart the military entrenchment of Iran in Syria and - above all - we will discuss the efforts to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons". 

In comments about the Golan Heights, Secretary Pompeo assessed that "there is a real risk. The proxies that are in the region, in southern Syria and in the vicinity of the Golan Heights, are presenting risk to the Israelis, and we're made clear the Israelis have a right to defend themselves". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated that "we are continuing to take vigorous action against Iran's attempts to entrench militarily in Syria".

On a visit to the Golan Heights, Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that "the Golan is part of Israel; the Golan must stay part of Israel forever. I think it's very important that the international community recognise this fact and accept it, and most especially our great friend the U.S." Responding to subsequent comments from Senator Lindsey Graham, who pledged to "start an effort to recognise the Golan as part of the State of Israel", Netanyahu stated that "you heard very strong words here from Senator Graham that express American policy, President Trump's policy, of support for Israel. They are taking this to a very concrete step - to keep the Golan part of Israel. Otherwise our border will be with Iran on the shores of the Kinneret - and we are not prepared to accept that". 

CENTCOM commander Joseph Votel posited that "the U.S. withdrawal from Syria represents the most dynamic shift in the environment since ISIS lost its ability to govern major population centres and fight as a conventional force and could trigger a renewed race for influence, control, and for some, survival". He further stated that "Israel's legitimate concerns about Iran's increasingly provocative actions in Syria, particularly the transshipment of advanced weapons systems into and through Syria, are driving increasingly forward-leaning Israeli military actions". 

President Trump replied to a 22 February letter from members of Congress calling for "a small American stabilising force in Syria" by bracketing a paragraph about ensuring "that ISIS never returns, that Iran is not emboldened" and noting "I agree 100 per cent - all is being done". 

Syria state media reported that Israel "fired a shell on the area to the west of Hadar town in [the] Quneitra countryside". 

Briefing the cabinet about his 27 February meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that "the focus of our discussions was the Iranian issue. I made it unequivocally clear that Israel will not allow the military entrenchment of Iran in Syria, and I also made it unequivocally clear that we would continue to take military action against it". "We agreed on the continuation of the security coordination mechanism between the Russia military and the IDF", Netanyahu continued, adding that "President Putin and I also agreed on a common goal - the withdrawal of foreign forces that arrived in Syria after the outbreak of the civil war. We agreed to establish a joint team to advance this goal, together with other elements".  

President Trump assessed that "as of probably today or tomorrow, we will actually have 100 per cent of the [ISIS] caliphate in Syria... And we'll leave a small group of guys and gals. But we want to bring our people back home". 

Qods force commander Soleimani described Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's 25 February trip to Tehran as a "celebration of victory", adding that "you saw how Assad hugged the [Supreme] Leader with love, like a son who has been departed from his father. This is not a minor thing". Soleimani also assessed that "the most secure borders of our country is the common border with Iraq, and our friends are ruling the country". 

In Moscow, Prime Minister Netanyahu told President Putin that "the greatest threat to stability and security in the region comes from Iran and its proxies. We are determined to continue our vigorous action against the attempts by Iran, which calls for our destruction, including its attempts to entrench militarily in Syria". 

En route to Moscow for talks with President Putin, Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated that "from our point of view, the focus of the talks will be preventing Iran from entrenching in Syria, the entrenchment of a country which explicitly says that its goal is to wipe us out. You know that when I say we are acting against this, these are no empty words". "I will go into details with President Putin... to ensure that the Russian military and the IDF coordinate in such a manner as to prevent friction and clashes between us", Netanyahu added. "This has succeeded up to now and it is important that is also succeed in the future". 

President Rouhani maintained that "we have achieved good victories in the political and international stages, and we have done great things in the region, parts of which were on the shoulders of the IRGC, the foreign ministry and the economic sectors". He added that the 25 February visit of President Bashar al-Assad "indicates that if we stand by each other, we will be successful". 

Previewing a trip to Moscow, Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated that "the focus of our talks will be the Iranian entrenchment in Syria. We are taking action against it; we are attacking their bases. We will continue to take action against it. This is what I will discuss with the [Russian] President [Vladimir Putin]". Netanyahu added that "we will continue to act until we get the Iranians to leave Syria because Iran is threatening to destroy Israel and we will not allow it a base close to our border". 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad traveled to Tehran for meetings with senior Iranian officials. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei asserted that "Syria... managed to stand strong against a big coalition of the U.S., Europe and their allies in the region and victoriously come out of it". He also warned that "the question of a buffer zone in Syria that the Americans are trying to create is one of their dangerous plots that must be firmly rejected and opposed". "Iran and Syria", Khamenei added, "are strategic allies and the identity and power of Resistance depends on their continuous and strategic alliance, because of which the enemies will not be able to put their plans into action". President Rouhani pledged that "Iran will stand by the Syria government and people like before". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that "yesterday, we heard a senior Iranian official say 'Iran has achieved 90 per cent of its goals in Syria'. This is incorrect. It is correct that they are trying and it is correct that we are blocking them. Last month another Iranian official said that they are only 'advising' Syria. The world hears very many Iranian lies". "I have a clear message to the Iranian regime that wants to destroy Israel", Netanyahu continued. "Israel will continue to act as necessary in order to block Iranian military entrenchment in Syria". 

Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary, Ali Shamkhani, maintained that "we will stay in Syria and fight against terrorism as long as the legitimate Syrian government would make such requests". Addressing Israel's airstrikes, Shamkhani posited that "Israel is clearly taking steps to serve the interests of terrorists and to counter the Syrian government and army". "We severely responded to the [Israeli] attack on T4 and dealt a heavy blow to them", Shamkhani remarked. "We have made arrangements to protect our red line in the area of human casualties caused by any act of aggression and invasion". He also predicted that "we will soon witness a major upheaval in upgrading the deterrent power of resistance in Syria. I believe that the Zionist regime's officials, particularly their military and intelligence officials, are well aware of this issue. The method for tackling their Zionist regime's attacks on Syria and the axis of resistance in 2019 will be significantly different from the combat methods in the past". "We have accomplished more than 90 per cent of our objectives [in Syria]", Shamkhani maintained. "Thus, the Israeli punitive strikes have had no strategic impact and the resistance has pressed ahead with its activities".  

The White House announced that following the withdrawal of U.S. forces, "a small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time". However, the following day media reports clarified that the figure may actually be 400. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, referring to Israeli airstrikes in Syria, opined that "there is adventurism on Israel's side, and adventurism is always dangerous". Zarif also assessed that a direct clash with Israel was not likely, but added that "we cannot exclude the possibility". 

In an interview with Voice of America's Persian service, Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated that "my concern is not that Iran violates the [nuclear] deal. My concern is that Iran keeps the deal... because I think it paves the way to the nuclear arsenal". "The deal produced megabucks, enormous, a cornucopia of riches", he added. "Where is it? Where's the money? Why are the people of Iran suffering? Because this regime is squandering that money on foreign aggression". Asked about the impact of sanction on Iran's support for regional allies, Netanyahu asserted that "the money is drying out... the deprivation of the money means that they have to cut back both for Hizbollah, the Huthis and Hamas - the 'three H's" - but also in Syria they're cutting back because they don't have it". On Israel's campaign against Iran inside Syria, Netanyahu assessed that it had "by and large" succeeded, but "not completely... they're still there, but they would have been in a much greater presence if we hadn't done it. And in fact, the presence has shrunken somewhat". 

President Rouhani met with his Turkish and Russian counterparts for discussions on Syria. In a press conference, he suggested that "if the U.S. retreats its forces from Syria, based on our intelligence we know that they will continue to meddle in Syria". Rouhani also posited that "illegal interference in Syria by the Zionist regime [i.e. Israel] is a source of concern for the people of this country and other nations in the region. [The] Israelis bomb anywhere in the region and fly on Lebanese and Syrian soil whenever they wish, and unfortunately, the UN and global authorities are silent about these continued acts of aggression in Syria". 

Secretary Pompeo, in Warsaw for the Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East, described the proceedings as "absolutely historic... the first time in a quarter of a century that you had the prime minister of Israel in the same room talking about threats in the Middle East with senior Arab leaders from all across the Middle East". "This gathering is certainly about Middle East peace and stability," he explained. "You can't talk about that without talking about the threat from the Islamic Republic of Iran, whether it's Hizbollah, Hamas, the Houthis - I call them the three H's - whether it's their work against the Iraqi government... whether it's what they're doing in Syria today". Pompeo also remarked that "we don't expect the Iranian people to support the U.S. We expect them to take care of their own country... we want the Iranian people to have the opportunity to live in a prosperous, peaceful society and one that is controlled by their desires, their wishes. And if we can get that, I am very confident that these behaviours that we see in Iran will change dramatically". On Yemen, Pompeo stressed that "we have two problems - three problems really. The first problem is al-Qaeda... the second problem is Iran continuing to fund the Huthis... it provides missiles to the Huthis that they launch into airports in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates". 

In Warsaw for the Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East, Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that "what is important about this meeting - and it is not in secret, because there are many of those - is that this is an open meeting with representatives of leading Arab countries, that are sitting down together with Israel in order to advance the common interest of combating Iran". Initial translations of those comments referred to "war with Iran", rather than "combating Iran", which Foreign Minister Zarif quickly seized on as reflecting "Netanyahu's illusions". 

En route to Warsaw for the Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East, Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that "we operate very many means and very many elements against the Iranian aggression, against their attempts to arm themselves with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Time and again we have exposed their terrorist actions in Europe. Time and again we have blocked their attempts to entrench in Syria, day after day". "Our relations with countries in the region, except Syria, are all very good... the reality is that these relations are becoming tighter", Netanyahu added, going on to opine that "the holding of this conference in which Israel, the U.S., various countries around the world and from the region sit down in one place, in one hall and discuss one topic which, in my opinion, is the most important for our national security, is a very important achievement". 

During a visit to an Israeli naval facility, Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that "it is impossible to show everything but the missiles that you see behind me can go very far, against any enemy, including Iran's proxies in our region". "We are constantly working according to our understanding and the need to prevent Iran and its proxies from entrenching on our northern border and in our region in general", Netanyahu added. "We are doing everything necessary". 

Syrian state media claimed that Israel had shelled and fired missiles at sites in and around Quneitra. 

In remarks to a ministerial meeting of the counter-ISIS coalition, President Trump indicated that "the U.S. military, our Coalition partners and the Syrian Democratic Forces have liberated virtually all of the territory previously held by ISIS in Syria and Iraq. It should be formally announced sometime probably next week that we will have 100 per cent of the caliphate". He went on to state that "as countries in the region and across our Coalition step up their commitments, as we continue to destroy the remnants - that's all they have, remnants. But remnants can be very dangerous". 

In remarks to a ministerial meeting of the counter-ISIS coalition, Secretary Pompeo maintained that "the drawdown of [U.S.] troops [from Syria] is essentially a tactical change - it is not a change in the mission. It does not change the structure, design or authorities on which the campaign has been based". Pompeo added that "in addition to this coalition's laser-like focus on defeating ISIS, we're committed to the following series of things. First, a political solution in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254. The removal of all Iranian-led forces from Syria". 

Previewing a 21 February trip to Moscow, Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated that "it's very important that we continue to prevent Iran from entrenching in Syria. In many ways we've blocked that advance and we're committed to continue blocking it, preventing Iran from creating another war front against us, right here opposite the Golan Heights. This is the main subject I will be discussing with President Putin". 

Iranian SNSC Secretary Ali Shamkhani warned that Israel's "continued aggression against Syria, its actions against the army and the resistance forces and violation of the country's territorial integrity is unacceptable... in case of continued acts, the measures foreseen for deterrence and for a crushing and proportional response will be activated to give a lesson to the liar and criminal Israeli rulers". 

Ahead of a ministerial meeting of the counter-ISIS coalition, a senior U.S. official noted that "we're entering a very critical phase in which we need to expand the diplomatic cooperation to assist the populations in Iraq and north-eastern Syria recover from ISIS' rule but also maintaining significant pressure on ISIS as it increasingly turns to insurgent tactics to destabilise both north-eastern Syria and Iraq". Another official further indicated that "our three top priorities [in Syria]... continue to be to secure an enduring defeat of ISIS, to see the exit of all Iranian-commanded forces from the entirety of Syria and to reach a political settlement of the conflicts under UN Security Council Resolution 2254". A third diplomat asserted that "we can't turn a blind eye towards the malign activities of Iran throughout the region", adding that "we expect Iran to fully respect the sovereignty of Iraq and other regional states, to cease their destabilising activities and to refrain from actions that enflame sectarian tensions". 

Prime Minister told his cabinet that "in Iran today they are marking 40 years since the Islamic revolution and are trying to boast about the new missile. Iran openly declares its intention to destroy the State of Israel. I have a clear message to the tyrants of Tehran: we know what you are doing and where you are doing it. We will continue to take action against Iran with all the tools at our disposal in order to ensure the security and future of Israel". Netanyahu also met with a delegation of UN ambassadors, and asserted to them that "a great shift has taken place in the Middle East. That shift is the rise of the aggressive theocracy of Iran that seeks to conquer the Middle East, eliminate Israel and dominate many other parts of the world". "Iran has proxies", Netanyahu continued. "One of them is Hizbollah... they actually control the government of Lebanon. It means that Iran controls the government of Lebanon. It's important to send this very powerful message just as we stop the terror tunnels coming into Israel, we will stop all the aggression; from Lebanon or from Syria or from Iran itself". 

Following discussions between Prime Minister Netanyahu and senior Russian officials, his office reported that "among the issues discussed were Iran and the situation in Syria, and strengthening the security coordination mechanism between the militaries in order to prevent friction". 

The U.S. intelligence community found that "Iran seeks to avoid a major armed conflict with Israel. However, Israeli strikes that result in Iranian casualties increase the likelihood of Iranian conventional retaliation against Israel". 

A senior IRGC official warned that "our strategy is to wipe Israel off the world's political geography, and Israel seems to be approaching this reality by its evil actions". "If Israel does anything that leads to a new war", he added, "certainly it will be the kind of war that will result in their elimination, and the occupied territories will be retaken".  

Prime Minister Netanyahu asserted that "the main enemy that we face is Iran. Iran declares its intention to destroy us with nuclear weapons, which we are committed to thwarting. But Iran is also building forces around us. It wants to squeeze us". Citing three Iranian "bases" - in Lebanon, in Gaza, and in Syria - Netanyahu maintained that "we are committed to fighting all of these... we are facing Iran and its proxies on these three fronts".

Syria's UN envoy asked the Security Council whether "drawing the attention of the war-makers in this Council require[s] us to exercise our legitimate right to self-defence and respond to Israeli aggression on Damascus International Airport by responding the same way on Tel Aviv Airport?" 

Prime Minister Netanyahu warned that "our enemies who seek to destroy us should know that Israel's clenched fist will reach all those who seek our ill and we will settle accounts with them". 

A senior Iranian military official maintained that "our current and future generations [in the Iranian air force] are impatient and fully ready to confront the Zionist regime and eliminate it from the earth", going on to say that "our future generations are learning required know-how for the promised day to destroy Israel". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu affirmed that "last night the air force strongly attacked Iranian targets in Syria after Iran launched a missile from there at our territory". "We will not ignore such acts of aggression as Iran attempts to entrench itself militarily in Syria and given explicit statements by Iran that it intends to destroy Israel", Netanyahu continued, adding that "whoever tries to hurt us - we hurt them. Whoever threatens to destroy us will bear the full responsibility". 

The Israeli military held discussions with Russian counterparts on "advancing and improving the de-confliction mechanism between the two countries in the northern arena and the IDF's activities against Iranian entrenchment and the Hizbollah organisation's rearmament efforts in Syria". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu asserted that "the most important thing that happened in the last year in our region is the decision by President Trump to move out of the [Iran nuclear] agreement. This has caused a tailspin in Iran's economy. What the nuclear deal did was fuel Iran's coffers, and from these coffers, they put it right into Syria, right into Hizbollah, right into Hamas". "The second most dramatic thing that happened", Netanyahu continued, "is our military activity in Syria to deprive Iran from basing itself militarily against us in Syria". 

The IRGC's commander warned Israel to "fear the day when Iranian precision missiles hit you and take revenge of all the blood of oppressed Muslims which you have shed". "Iran will keep in Syria all the military and revolutionary advisors, and equipment and weapons which aim to train and empower Islamic resistance forces and support oppressed people of the country", he pledged, adding that "we do not take into account your ridiculous threats. You know that if we have chosen to wait against your hostile measures, some considerations lie behind it". In related comments, Iran's diplomatic spokesperson advised Prime Minister Netanyahu to "know your limits". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that "there is one central threat: Iran and its terror proxies. We have acted carefully and responsibly to thwart efforts by those who wish to annihilate us to become stronger. We did this by blocking the nuclear deal with Iran and reimposing sanctions. We had to penetrate through Iranian lies, as Iran lies all the time. They lied about the nuclear deal, and we exposed that by uncovering the secret nuclear archive from Tehran. They are lying now, saying that they are launching an ostensibly innocent satellite into space, but in fact, they are aiming to accomplish the first stage for an inter-continental missile in defiance of all international agreements. We fully support the U.S.' unwavering objection to this aggressive act". "Another step we have taken to protect Israel", he continued, "is disrupting Hizbollah's attempts to acquire precision-guided munitions, destroying Hizbollah's tunnels in the north and those of Hamas in the south, and above all, preventing the Iranian military entrenchment in Syria". Citing an Iranian official's recent remarks about Iran's advisory role in Syria, Netanyahu said: "I advise them to get out of there fast, because we will continue with our resolute policy, as we have promised and as we are doing, fearlessly and relentlessly".  

A senior Iranian military official indicated that "as far as terrorists are in Syria and the country asks help from Tehran, Iran will continue its advisory presence in Syria". 

Via Twitter, President Trump indicated the U.S. was "starting the long overdue pullout from Syria while hitting the little remaining ISIS territorial caliphate hard, and from many directions. [We] will attack again from existing nearby base if it reforms. Will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds. Create 20-mile safe zone..." He went on to add that "[we] do not want the Kurds to provoke Turkey. Russia, Iran and Syria have been the biggest beneficiaries of the long-term U.S. policy of destroying ISIS in Syria - natural enemies". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that "we worked with impressive success to block Iran's military entrenchment in Syria. In this framework, the IDF attacked Iranian and Hizbollah targets hundreds of times. We worked together against the manufacture of precision weapons in Lebanon. We worked to dismantle Hizbollah's tunnels weapon in Lebanon, in Operation 'Northern Shield'". "Just in the last 36 hours", Netanyahu revealed, "the air force attacked Iranian warehouses with Iranian weapons at the international airport in Damascus. The accumulation of recent attacks proves that we are determined more than ever to take action against Iran in Syria, just as we promised". 

Confirming Israeli strikes against what he described as "an Iranian weapons warehouse at the international airport in Damascus", Prime Minister Netanyahu asserted that "if necessary, we will step up these attacks". He also indicated that operation "Northern Shield", along the Lebanon border, had come "to a successful close". 

Secretary Pompeo affirmed that "the roughly 2,000 uniformed soldiers that are in Syria today are going to be withdrawn. That activity is underway. We’re going to do so in an orderly, deliberate way, a way that protects America’s national security, a way that allows us to continue the important mission that they were on. The counter-terrorism mission, the effort to make sure that the destruction of ISIS is not only complete but that their resurgence is not possible, our efforts to counter the threat from terrorism stemming from the Islamic Republic of Iran – those are all real missions. The tactical change we’ve made in the withdrawal of those 2,000 troops is just that, a tactical change. The mission remains the same". 

Secretary Pompeo acknowledged that the U.S. goal of removing "every Iranian boot on the ground [in Syria] is an ambitious objective... but it's ours. It is our mission". Withdrawing U.S. forces from Syria, Pompeo explained, "is a tactical change. It doesn't materially alter our capacity to continue to perform the military actions that we need to perform. But even more broadly than that, the campaign to create a better world, to allow the Iranian people to have opportunity and democracy, has lots of pieces to it - economic, financial, diplomatic for sure". He went on to suggest that "the nuclear proliferation risks from Iran are incredibly real... our mission set is certainly to stop the terror regime, to stop the fighting of Hizbollah and Shiite militias and the Huthis... but it has a nuclear component". 

In letters to the UN, the Syrian government posited that on 11 January Israel "targeted a number of sites in the vicinity of Damascus and its countryside with missiles launched by Israeli warplanes". 

Israel's outgoing military chief of staff reflected that "we operated under a certain threshold until two-and-a-half years ago. And then we noticed a significant change in Iran's strategy. Their vision was to have significant influence in Syria by building a force of up to 100,000 Shiite fighters... they built intelligence bases and an air force base within each Syria air base". Referring to IRGC Qods force commander Qasem Soleimani, Gadi Eisenkot assessed that "his error was choosing a playground where he is relatively weak... we have strong deterrence and we have justification to act". "The force we faced over the last two years was a determined force", Eisenkot continued, "but not very impressive in its capabilities". He went on to add that "as we push [the Iranians] in Syria, they transfer their efforts to Iraq". 

Secretary Pompeo underscored that "we strongly support Israel's efforts to stop Tehran from turning Syria into the next Lebanon" going on to say that "the U.S. fully supports Israel's right to defend itself against the Iranian regime's aggressive adventurism". "We will continue to ensure that Israel has the military capacity to do so decisively", he added.

Secretary Pompeo pledged that "in Syria, the U.S. will use diplomacy and work with our partners to expel every last Iranian boot". "There will be no U.S. reconstruction assistance for areas of Syria held by Assad", he added, "until Iran and its proxy forces withdraw and until we see irreversible progress towards a political resolution". 

Secretary Pompeo remarked that President Trump has "made a commitment. We're going to withdraw our uniformed personnel, uniformed guys, 2000 roughly folks on the ground. We're going to withdraw them from Syria". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu told National Security Advisor John Bolton that "President [Trump] walked away from the dangerous Iran deal and re-imposed sanctions... that's important to America, to Israel, to the world, and everyone who wants to stop Iranian aggression respects that deeply". 

A senior U.S. diplomat explained that "concerning Syria, we have no timeline for our military forces to withdraw... the President has made the decision that we will withdraw our military forces from Syria, but that it will be done in a deliberate, heavily coordinated way with our allies and partners". The diplomat went on to assert that "our military posture in Syria may be changing, but our overall goals in Syria remain the same, and key among those is... to see the withdrawal from Syria of all Iranian-commanded forces". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding "developments in Syria, including in light of the U.S.' plans to withdraw its troops... the parties reaffirmed their mutual determination to strengthen coordination through military and diplomatic channels". 

Secretary Pompeo remarked that "the President is not ambiguous with respect to Syria. Our troops are coming out. The President also made very clear that we needed to continue the counter-ISIS campaign, and we needed to continue to ensure that we did the things to create stability throughout the Middle East. The counter-Iran campaign continues. We'll do all of those things......we will simply do it at a time when the American forces have departed Syria". Pompeo also discussed U.S. sanctions against Iran, stating that while "a well-supplied crude oil market" was a consideration for issuing sanctions waivers, "we want to ensure that we're complying with the requirements that the sanctions on Iran have the ultimate goal which we're trying to achieve: creating an outcome where the Iranian people... can have better lives than they have today under this tyrannical regime". 

Prime Minister asserted that "we are acting decisively to thwart all those who seek to endanger us. This is now happening in Syria, against Iran's attempts to entrench itself militarily... it is also happening on the Lebanese border". Netanyahu went on to argue that "the greatest threat from Iran is that of nuclear weapons in the hands of a power which declares that we need to be wiped off the face of the earth... I insisted on the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran and President Trump indeed made the brave decision to re-impose them. President Trump is acting against Iran in the economic sphere and here in Israel we are acting against Iran in the military sphere". 

President Trump asserted that "Iran is no longer the same country. Iran is pulling people out of Syria. They can do what they want there, frankly. But they're pulling people out. They're pulling people out of Yemen". "When we do all of the things that we've done monetarily to Iran", he added, "Iran is in trouble. And you know what? I'd love to negotiate with Iran. They're not ready yet, I don't think. But they will be. But Iran is a much different country right now... than it was when I took over". Asked about a timetable for pulling U.S. forces out of Syria, Trump responded that it would occur "over a period of time. I never said I'm getting out tomorrow. I said we're pulling our soldiers out, and they will be pulled back in Syria, and we're getting out of Syria... but we're getting out very powerfully". 

President Trump asserted that "ISIS is mostly gone", adding that "we're slowly sending our troops back home to be with their families, while at the same time fighting ISIS remnants". 

Iran's military chief of staff posited that "the U.S. pullout from Syria is a humiliating withdrawal", adding that "wherever Americans have been present, they caused insecurity... the [U.S.] exit from Syria and other parts of the region will lead to enhanced security and calm in the region". 

The State Department issued a statement underscoring that "the U.S. fully support Israel's right to defend itself against Iranian regional actions that endanger Israeli national security and the safety of the Israeli people. Iranian support of and supply to terrorist groups in Syria and across the region that have the clear intent and capability to strike Israel are unacceptable". 

The Syria government filed letters of complaint to the UN regarding 25 December Israeli airstrikes. 

During a visit to Iraq, President Trump asserted that "there will be a strong, deliberate and orderly withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria... while maintaining the U.S. presence in Iraq to prevent an ISIS resurgence and to protect U.S. interests, and also to always watch very closely over any potential reformation of ISIS and also to watch over Iran. We'll be watching". The trip drew criticism from Iraqi parliamentarians as well as PMU officials. 

Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that "we are not prepared to accept the Iranian military entrenchment in Syria which is directed against us. We will act against it vigorously and continuously... we will not be deterred from doing what is necessary". He added that "President Trump's decision to withdraw the American soldiers from Syria will not change our policy. We are standing steadfast on our red lines in Syria and everywhere else". Netanyahu also indicated that "we are eliminating Hizbollah's terrorist tunnels one after the other", referring to operation "Northern Shield" along the Lebanon border. 

U.S. defence officials indicated that overnight Israeli strikes in Syria targeted Iranian arms depots as well as members of Hizbollah, while a Russian military spokesperson argued that "provocative acts by the Israeli Air Force endangered two passenger jets". 

Syrian state media reported that "Syrian air defences confronted hostile missiles launched by Israel warplanes", adding that "the damages of the aggression were limited to a munition warehouse and the injury of three soldiers"; the Israeli military indicated the activation of "an IDF aerial defence system... in response to an anti-aircraft missile launched from Syria". 

President Trump announced that "Saudi Arabia has now agreed to spend the necessary money needed to help rebuild Syria". 

Foreign Minister Javad Zarif opined that "the U.S. has not fought against ISIS at all, and its presence in Syria is not in line with the interests of the Syria nation or agreed by the [country's] government". He went on to state that, following President Trump's decision to pull U.S. forces out of the country, "we do not have sufficient information on the U.S. plans in Syria to adopt a clear-cut stance". 

President Trump indicated that the U.S. military withdrawal from Syria would be "slow and highly coordinated". 

The Israeli military announced that "our troops spotted armed suspects crossing the Alpha Line into Israel near the Syrian border fence in the Golan Heights. In response, our troops fired towards them". 

Israel's army chief opined that "the American decision to withdraw troops from Syria is a significant event, but there's no need to overstate it... the IDF has been working independently this whole time, including during the period of American and Russian presence". He went on to assess that "the Iranian vision for Syria for the day after [the war]... was to build a force of 100,000 ground troops", adding that "the desire is to build a combined ground, aerial, naval and intelligence capability, really to construct a line of military positions along the Golan".

Prime Minister told his cabinet that Washington's "decision to withdraw 2000 U.S. troops from Syria will not change our consistent policy: we will continue to act against Iran's attempts to entrench itself militarily in Syria, and to the extent necessary, we will even expand our actions there". He went on to say that "cooperation with the U.S. will continue in full", and assessed that Israel's ongoing Operation "Northern Shield" along the Lebanon border was "meeting its timetable and its objectives".  

President Trump asserted that "on Syria, we were originally going to be there for three months, and that was seven years ago - we never left... now ISIS is largely defeated and other local countries, including Turkey, should be able to easily take care of whatever remains". 

Reacting to President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, Iran's Foreign Ministry opined that "in principle, the deployment and presence of U.S. forces in the region from the outset was a wrong, irrational and provocative move that created tensions". A senior Iranian military official also weighed in saying that "the Americans have come to the conclusion that they can exercise power neither in Iraq and Syria nor in the entire region". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated that Israel was "continuing our efforts to neutralise the terror tunnels [along the Lebanon border]", and added that "we will continue to take very strong action against Iran's attempts to entrench itself in Syria. In neither of these sectors do we intend to lessen our efforts; we will intensify them, and I know that we do so with the full support and backing of the U.S."

Explaining the U.S. decision to withdraw from Syria, Secretary Pompeo stressed that "the primary mission was to go take down the ISIS caliphate. That is at the very tail end of completion. And we have ISIS remnants in lots of pockets around the world". He added that the U.S. "intends to continue that counter-terrorism campaign, continue the fight against ISIS, whether it stems from Syria or other places". 

Elaborating on his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, President Trump asserted that "getting out of Syria was no surprise... Russia, Iran, Syria and others are the local enemy of ISIS. We were doing there [sic] work. Time to come home and rebuild". He went on to state that "Russia, Iran, Syria and many others are not happy about the U.S. leaving... because now they will have to fight ISIS and others, who they hate, without us." 

Prime Minister Netanyahu revealed that in conversations with President Trump and Secretary Pompeo, "the American administration told me that it is the president's intention to withdraw their forces from Syria. They made it clear that they have other ways of expressing their influence in the area". Netanyahu went on to say that "this is, of course, an American decision. We will study its timetable, how it will be implemented, and - of course - its implications for us. In any case we will take care to maintain the security of Israel and to defend ourselves in this area". 

President Trump announced that "we have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump presidency", while a White House statement indicated that "we have started returning U.S. troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu asserted that "we are committed to fighting the [Iran] nuclear agreement also with operations and actions and diplomatic moves... we are striking Iran and Syria and of course the U.S. is striking Iran economically. We are working to shrink this body which is responsible for almost all of the security problems that the State of Israel has". He added that "we are fighting the arms of Iran and Hizbollah... they [i.e. Hizbollah] planned to have thousands of precision missiles and they have a few dozen at best". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated that "our red line is survival. We do what is necessary to protect the State of Israel against the Iranian regime that openly calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state". Netanyahu added that "I'm not ruling out doing anything that we need to do to defend ourselves. For the moment Israel's military is the only military... that is directly engaging the Iranian forces. We're doing that in Syria and pulling them back". He went on to say that "we're going to stop things... when they're small. So we meet Iran head-on in Syria and if we need to we'll do whatever else we need to do to protect ourselves". 

An Israeli military delegation met with Russian counterparts in Moscow to update them on operation "Northern Shield" and consult about "the improvement of the two militaries' deconfliction system in the norther region". The IDF indicated that it would "continue operating to prevent Iranian entrenchment and the arming of Hizbollah in Syria". 

A senior IDF official reportedly assessed that "Iran is reducing its activities in Syria in response to its unpopularity at home". 

Prime Minister told Israel's diplomatic corps that "the exposure of Hizbollah's terrorist tunnels on the northern border is part of an effort, which is not just military, to block the tunnels threat. But it is also a public diplomacy, economic and diplomatic effort to impose increased sanctions Hizbollah, to designate all subdivisions of Hizbollah as one organisation". "It is also necessary", Netanyahu continued, "to increase sanctions on Iran, which is behind this organisation and is also behind Hamas' similar attempts". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu told his cabinet that "we will continue the operation [Northern Shield] until... the tunnel threat in the north is neutralised. At the same time we are working in the intelligence sphere in order to denounce Hizbollah and Iran and to increase sanctions against both of them". Netanyahu also detailed his earlier conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that "I told President Putin that we are continuing our policy: we will not allow Iran to establish a military presence in Syria. We will continue to take action against the precision weapons in Lebanon, and we will complete the operation to foil the tunnels threat". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated that "we've been effectively fighting [against Iranian entrenchment in Syria], and I have to say that as a result of our efforts there's been a reduction of dozens of per cents... at least 24 per cent in the Iranian forces in Syria, and as a result of American sanctions there's also been a similar reduction in the budgets that go there". 

The Israeli military stated that "during a Syrian surface-to-air missile launching, one launch was identified towards an open area in the Golan Heights". The IDF subsequently "found remnants of what seems to be a Syrian anti-aircraft missile fired during last night's incident". 

Citing military sources, Syrian media reported that "air defences intercepted hostile targets over the al-Kiswah region [south of Damascus] and downed them". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu identified three key security arenas for Israel: Gaza, the West Bank, and the northern arena including Syria and Lebanon. "We are continuing to take action to thwart the establishment of an Iranian military presence in Syria", Netanyahu noted, "and Hizbollah's precision weapons project in Lebanon". 

IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot assessed that "the fact that their abilities [in Syria] are far from what Iran and terror groups desired is the result of high-quality, ongoing operational activity" by Israel. He also pledged that "the IDF will continue to thwart these efforts [by Iran and Hizbollah], while preserving the security situation in the north in the long-term". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu asserted that "from the information we have, the amount of Iranian weapons transfers to Hizbollah through Syria has significantly dropped since the downing of the Russian plane" in September. 

A senior Israeli defence official indicated that the Golan Heights "sector still poses many complex challenges... we are well aware of Iran's increasing attempts to establish itself militarily in many areas of Syria. We see how the Iranians are trying to transfer weapons to Hizbollah in Lebanon through Syria. We know that Hizbollah is trying to establish terrorist infrastructures on the Syrian Golan Heights, near our border". "The IDF", he added, "will not allow this to happen". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu praised the U.S. vote against a draft UN resolution critical of Israel's presence in the Golan Heights, asserting that "Israel will always remain on the Golan Heights, and the Golan Heights will always remain in our hands". 

The U.S. special representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, laid out U.S. objectives in Syria as "the enduring defeat of ISIS, a re-invigorated and irreversible political process... and de-escalation of the conflict that will include all Iranian-commanded forces departing from the entirety of Syria". Jeffrey elaborated that "on getting Iran out, that is basically part of a process. It's not a military goal of the U.S., it's not a mission of U.S. military forces... you will not have a lasting peace in Syria if Iran is doing the kind of power projection policies out of Syria that it has done through Hizbollah in southern Lebanon and done through the Huthis in northern Yemen". 

Asked about Iranian withdrawals near the Golan Heights, Foreign Minister Zarif asserted that "There were no Iranian forces in southern Syria to begin with", adding that "this applies to Lebanese Hizbollah as well... their presence was temporary and meant to fight terrorism". 

Russia's ambassador to Israel described the notion of ending Iran's military presence in Syria as "an unrealistic request", adding that "as far as we know, the Iranian government does not plan to attack Israel first". He went on to offer that "if there are concerns on the Israeli side, we are ready to listen. And if there are grounds for these concerns, we could take measures in contacts with our Iranian and Syrian partners". 

Commenting on the prospect of Israeli strikes following the delivery of Russian S-300 missiles to Syria, a senior Syrian military official assessed that while "we cannot say that this probability has been reduced to zero... the probability of this aggression achieving its goals has been minimised". 

The U.S. special representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, opined that the "Iranians are part of the problem not part of the solution" in Syria, and noted that the U.S. was "contesting more actively Iran's activities particularly in Iraq, Syria and Yemen". 

The U.S. special representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, indicated that "in the past, Russia has been permissive in consultations with the Israelis about Israeli strikes against Iranian targets inside Syria. We certainly hope that permissive approach will continue". 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov remarked that "military operations can't resolve Israeli security concerns but will only help increase regional tensions". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu met with the U.S. special representative for Syria engagement, James Jeffrey, and "discussed developments in Syria and efforts against Iranian aggression". 

A senior Russian defence official asserted that "it is advisable for 'hot heads' to adequately assess the current situation in the region and refrain from provocative actions on the territory of Syria". 

A senior Israeli official revealed that "the IDF have attacked in Syria, including after the [17 September] downing of the Russian plane". 

In remarks alongside U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, Prime Minister Netanyahu posited that Iranian aggression was manifest "in every part of the Middle East. We see it... in our norther border in their attempts to entrench militarily in Syria, their attempts to bring deadliest weapons to Lebanon, to launch aggression through their proxies in Gaza and elsewhere". "Pressure is the only thing that arrests the forward movement of the Iranian nuclear program", Netanyahu argued, "and pressure is the only thing that rolls back Iran's aggression in the region". 

A senior U.S. diplomat asserted that "we want to see the Iranians leave Syria... and frankly, even the Russians tell us that's their goal. So there seems to be some consensus that the Iranians and their forces inside Syria should leave Syria". 

The Quneitra border crossing was reopened.  

Secretary Pompeo asserted that Iran's goals in Syria "have included expanding the reach of its Revolutionary Guard, gaining an entrenched position near the Golan Heights and, ultimately, establishing a second front from which proxies like Hizbollah can terrorise the Israeli people". Pompeo went on to say that "defeating ISIS, which was once our primary focus, continues to be a top priority, but it will now be joined by two other mutually reinforcing objectives. These include a peaceful and political resolution to the Syrian conflict and the removal of all Iranian and Iranian-backed forces from Syria". "If Syria doesn't ensure the total withdrawal of Iranian-backed troops", he added" it will... not receive one single dollar from the U.S. for reconstruction". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that "today we see what is happening over the border - Iran's attempts to establish a military presence and the aggression of terrorist fanatics. We will continue to stand strong and determined against all of these... as long as it depends on me the Golan Heights will always remain under Israeli sovereignty because otherwise we would have Iran and Hizbollah on the shores of the Kinneret". Netanyahu went on to say that Israel "will continue to act with determination against Iran's attempts to open an additional front against us on the Golan Heights, and in Syria we will act against all attempts to transfer lethal weapons to Hizbollah in Lebanon". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated that he and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, "agreed to meet soon in order to continue the important inter-military security cooperation" between Israel and Russia. "Israel will act at all times to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria and to thwart the transfer of lethal weapons to Hizbollah in Lebanon", he added. 

Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his argument "that all nations must join together to press the Iranian regime to fully dismantle its nuclear weapons program. They're still trying to hide... they're trying to get there through the back door". Netanyahu went on to assert that Iran should "stop using Syria as a base for attacks against Israel. Syria and Lebanon. And ultimately they have to get out of Syria altogether". "We will continue to block Iran's efforts to use Syria and Lebanon as forward bases for attacking Israel", he added. 

Russian officials confirmed the transfer of S-300 missile systems to Syria. The delivery "included 49 pieces of equipment, including radars, control vehicles and four launchers". Secretary Pompeo subsequently labeled the move "a very serious escalation". 

Commenting on Israeli strikes against Iranian and Iran-linked targets in Syria, Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, stated that "Iran is in Syria to fight terrorism and extremism and help stabilise the situation. That we are not there to fight others, but we've said all the time that we defend ourselves. And we believe that people should avoid provoking". 

The U.S. special representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, assessed that Iran's involvement in Syria reflects "capabilities that we would associate with power projection over the region. Very similar to what we've seen in southern Lebanon, very similar to what we have seen in northern Yemen". He went on to suggest that "a military presence long term, including power projection - which the Iranian seem to be aiming for - is a little bit more than their minimum goals and seems to be frosting on the cake. What we're trying to suggest is let's put pressure on them to leave". "We're not going to force the Iranians out of Syria", Jeffrey added. "This is all about political pressure". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu warned Iran that Israel "will continue to act against you in Syria", where he maintained "Iran is trying to establish permanent military bases against us and has already launched missiles and drones into our territory". 

Iran's SNSC secretary, Ali Shamkhani, remarked that Israel "is seeking to consolidate the crisis in Syria and has taken actions in direct support of terrorist groups by targeting the Syrian army and counter-terrorism forces, but if it continues [its attacks] it will face regrettable reactions". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu met with President Trump in New York, where they "discussed their continued close coordination on countering the malign influence of Iran". Netanyahu underscored that "everybody should understand that Israel will continue to do what is necessary and defend ourselves against Iranian aggression in Syria, in Lebanon, anywhere else". 

In remarks en route to the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Netanyahu assessed that "in the past three years Israel has been very successful in preventing both the establishment of an Iranian military presence in Syria and the attempt to transfer lethal weapons to Hizbollah in Lebanon". He went on to indicate that Israel "will continue to take action to prevent the establishment of an Iranian military presence in Syria and we will continue the security coordination between the IDF and the Russian military". 

In a statement, Israel's security cabinet indicated that it had "instructed the IDF to continue to take action against attempts by Iran to establish a military presence in Syria while continuing the security coordination with Russia". 

Russia's defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, announced that "a modern S-300 air defence missile system will be supplied to the Syrian armed forces within two weeks". The U.S. national security advisor, John Bolton, characterised the plan as a "significant escalation", and stressed that U.S. forces would remain in Syria "as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders".    

The Israeli military pledged that it "will continue to operate in accordance with the directives of the Israeli government against Iran's incessant attempts to establish itself in Syria and to arm the terrorist organisation Hizbollah with lethal and accurate weapons". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu advised Hizbollah's leader to "think not twice but twenty times because if he confronts us he will receive a crushing blow that he cannot even imagine". 

In a call with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Netanyahu underscored Israel's determination "to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria as well as the attempts by Iran... to transfer to Hizbollah lethal weapons for use against Israel". 

In a statement on the 17 September downing of a Russian plane in Syria, Secretary Pompeo indicated that the "unfortunate incident" highlighted the need "to end Iran's provocative transit of dangerous weapons through Syria".