Sputnik News- The Israeli government should be disarmed for the sake of restoring peace and security in the region, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Thursday.

Earlier in�the day, Syrian SANA news service reported that� Israel launched missile strikes targeting a site near�Damascus International Airport. Commenting on�the reports, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said that the strike was compatible with�Israel's policy of�targeting streams of�Lebanon-based Hezbollah's Iranian arms deliveries through�Syria.
"Given the history of�the Israeli regime, we see that they had [pursued] nothing but�war and bloodshed. Therefore, this regime must be completely disarmed. And only after�this regime would be completely eliminated, we can restore security and peace," Dehghan told Rossiya 24 broadcaster.


Hostilities between�Israel and Syria regularly escalate, with�Israeli Defense Force (IDF) planes hitting targets in�Syria in�response to�cross-border fire incidents while also attacking groups Israel deems hostile inside�the country. Meanwhile, Syrian forces have several times claimed to�have shot down�IDF aircraft which were violating the country's airspace. Israel has annexed the Golan Heights in�1981 following�the 1967 Six-Day War with�Syria.

The relations between�Israel and Iran have been strained since�the Iranian Revolution in�the late 1970s. The ties are overshadowed by�a number of�issues, including Tehran's nuclear and missile programs accompanied by�controversial anti-Israeli statements made by�high-ranking Iranian officials, such as�former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Hezbollah, considered by�Israel a terrorist organization, was established in�the 1980s in�Lebanon. Both Tehran and Hezbollah have been supporting the Syrian government in�its fight against�multiple armed groups inside�the country.