Sputnik- The lion�s share of Israeli media earlier voiced concerns over the Russian Defense Ministry�s plans to reconsider supplies of S-300 systems to Syria following the western-coordinated airstrikes against the war-weary country.




Mark Heller, principal research associate at�the Institute for�National Security Studies, Tel Aviv University, has shared with�Sputnik what Damascus� potential purchase of�the Russian long range surface-to-air missile S-300 systems would mean for�Israel.
�Israel is concerned that more effective Syrian air defenses built around�advanced Russian equipment would limit Israel's ability to�operate against�Iranian and Hezbollah forces in�Syria, which are part of�Iran's overall regional strategy, as�well as�against Syrian weapons of�mass destruction facilities and supply lines to�Hezbollah in�Lebanon,� Heller said, echoing Tel Aviv�s official stance on�Iran�s alleged presence in�Syria.


While stressing that Israel favored the trilateral cooperation between�the US, France and the UK, Heller has suggested that the alliance lacks a �broader strategic framework� to�hinder �a total Syrian regime victory in�the civil war� that, according to�him, would boost Iran�s �hegemonic aspirations� in�the region.

The researcher told Sputnik that despite�Israel�s close partnership with�the United States, Tel Aviv welcomed the thawing relations with�Moscow, and hopes to�see more progress in�the future.
�Many Israelis see Russia as�a potential stabilizing force in�Syria and one that might contain Iranian expansion in�the future.� At the same time, it needs to�be admitted that at�the present time, Russia is aligned with�the forces most hostile and potentially most dangerous to�Israel � Iran and its various proxies.� [�]� Conflict with�Russia is the very last thing that Israel wants, but�everyone needs to�understand that Israel will act to�forestall the most dangerous outcomes in�Syria (i.e., Syria becoming a forward Iranian base),� Heller clarified.


Speaking about�the prospects of�the bilateral relations between�Tehran and Tel Aviv, Heller said that �Iranian hostility toward�Israel� will be perceived as �irreconcilable and exceedingly dangerous,� unless �the regime in�Iran collapses.�
�Therefore, from�Israel's perspective, the most important variable in�Syria is how everyone else contributes to�Iran's agenda or undermines it. Since Russia is now the foremost extra-regional power in�the Syrian arena, its approach to�this issue is critical in�Israeli eyes and will be the major factor in�determining whether tensions abate or escalate into�outright conflict,� Heller concluded.


The Israeli media, including The Jerusalem Post, had earlier warned that �Israel�s air superiority was at�risk of�being challenged in�one of�the most difficult� areas if Russia opted to�sell Syria more advanced weapons. Another analyst from�I24 news broadcaster Ron Ben-Yishai shared those concerns, insisting that Israel would have to�take �cautionary and preventive measures not yet taken so far.�

On April 14, Chief of�the Main Operational Directorate of�the Russian General Staff Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy announced that Moscow might reconsider selling the S-300 systems to�Damascus in�the wake of�the US and allied airstrikes against�Syria in�response to�the alleged use of�chemical weapons by�the Assad forces in�the city of�Douma.

According to�the Russian Defense Ministry, a total of�71 cruise missiles out�of 103, fired by�the trilateral alliance, had been intercepted by�Syrian air defense systems, which appeared to�have been made in�the Soviet Union over�30 years ago.
�Syria�s means of�air defense: S-125, S-200 air defense systems, [as well as] Buk and Kvadrat units were used to�repel the missile strike,� the ministry stated.


Mounting Tensions Between Israel and Syria

Last week, the Syrian state-agency SANA reported, citing its own correspondent, that the T-4, also known as�Tiyas, airbase in�Homs province had been�exposed to�a missile attack. While the media suggested that the United States might have been behind�the attack � which the Pentagon immediately denied, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that�two Israeli fighter jets�had attacked the airfield, with�strikes being carried out�from Lebanese airspace. The ministry further specified that five out�of eight rockets were repelled by�Syrian air defenses before�reaching their stated targets.� As a result of�the attack, 14 people were reportedly killed, including seven Iranian nationals.

In February 2018, Tel Aviv launched an airstrike on�the�T-4 airbase, having hit 12 Syrian and �Iranian military targets.� On the eve of�the attack, Israel claimed that one of�its helicopters had�intercepted an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle�after�it had crossed into�the disputed area of�the Golan Heights, which have been at�the center of�a conflict between�Syria and Israel, and struck at�what the IDF described as�Iranian targets in�Syria, prompting retaliatory fire from�Syrian air defense systems, which brought down�the Israeli F-16 fighter jet.

The views expressed in�this article are solely those of�the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the official position of�Sputnik.