The threats voiced by Iranian officials come amid increased efforts by Israel to thwart the Islamic Republic’s expansionist efforts, including its aspiration to entrench itself military in Syria, a mission which poses a direct threat to Israel’s national security interests on its northern frontier. To assure Israel‘s continued freedom of operations against Iran in both Syria and Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met yesterday evening at his residence in Jerusalem with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for Syrian affairs, Alexander Lavrentiev, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Veshinin. An official statement by the Prime Minister office said: “Among the issues discussed were Iran and the situation in Syria and strengthening the security coordination mechanism between the (Israeli and Russian) militaries in order to prevent friction.” The statement further noted that “The Russian representatives reiterated (during the meeting) Russia’s commitment to the maintenance of Israel’s national security.”
