Russian envoy: Israel agrees to removal of Iranian troops 85km from Golan

Russia and Israel have reached an agreement to remove Iranian forces at least 85 kilometers from Israel’s Golan Heights border, Russian Presidential Special Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev told the Sputnik news agency on Wednesday.

“As we took into account the Israeli concerns, we managed to attain the pullout of Iranian units 85 kilometers [some 53 miles] from the Israeli [-Syrian] border,”  Lavrentyev said.

According to him, Russia is “certain” that Israeli concerns over the presence of pro-Iranian forces near its border with Syria are decreasing

Jerusalem has repeatedly said it would not allow Iran to set up a permanent presence in Syria and Israeli officials such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman have met with their Russian counterparts numerous times in recent weeks to stress the point.

Last month, Israel refused a Russian offer to keep Iranian troops 100km from Israel’s border, stressing that it wants Iranian troops to fully withdraw from Syria; something that Russia has warned would be unrealistic.

Russia, which views Iran as a key player in resolving the crisis in Syria, has repeatedly emphasized the importance of the role that the Islamic Republic plays in the war-torn country.

“They are playing a very, very important role in our common and joint effort to eliminate terrorists in Syria,” Russia’s Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov told Channel 10 in an interview on Tuesday.

“That is why, for this period of time, we see as non-realistic any demands to expel any foreign troops from the entirety of the Syrian Arab Republic,” he said.

Moscow intervened in the Syrian conflict in September 2015 and as an ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad finds itself part of an alliance between Damascus and Tehran, the patron of Hezbollah.

Lavrentyev on Wednesday stressed that Russia is acting in an open manner and respecting the interests of all neighboring countries, including Israel.

“We are doing nothing behind anyone’s back. We are informing Damascus about all our activities. We are acting jointly because we hope for the full support of Damascus and incumbent authorities on further democratization of the [Syrian] society, launch of the political process and implementation of the constitutional reform,” he said.

Tensions have risen dramatically between Jerusalem and Tehran in recent months after Israel struck 50 Iranian targets in Syria in May in response to Iran launching 32 missiles toward Israeli positions in the Golan Heights from Syria.

Footage of Israel striking Iranian targets in Syria, May 2018 (Credit: IDF spokesperson’s office)

On Tuesday, the IDF released new footage showing Israel Air Force jets and tank fire striking targets in what was the widest military operation launched by Israel against Syria since 1974.

The IDF struck tens of positions and targets belonging to Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Forces in Syria – including logistics bases, weapons depots, intelligence sites and intelligence gathering positions near the border with the Golan Heights.  All were destroyed  by the IAF in cooperation with the 282nd “Golan” Artillery Brigade within 1.5 hours from when the 20 Fajr-5 and Grad missiles were fired towards Israel.

During the Israeli retaliation, the Syrian regime fired dozens of air-defense missiles from Sa2, Sa17, Sa22 and SA5 missile batteries. No Israeli jets were hit and all returned to base safely after the Syrian anti-aircraft launchers were destroyed.

Israel had been preparing for a direct attack from the Quds forces since mid-April which was anticipated to be carried out in response to a strike allegedly executed by the Jewish state against an Iranian-operated airbase in Syria which killed seven IRGC soldiers.

The night before the missile salvo, the IDF instructed local governments to open bomb shelters to residents of the Golan Heights following the identification of “abnormal movements of Iranian forces in Syria.”