Iran agrees to sell air defense equipment to Syria: Report

The Cradle, February 24, 2023 — The military agreement aims to help Syria strengthen its air defense capabilities and establish stability and security in the region.

On 24 February, Iranian national television reported that the Iranian defense ministry had signed an agreement with the head of Syria’s air force to sell electronic warfare and air defense equipment to Damascus, to help reinforce the defenses of Tehran’s close ally in the face of frequent Israeli air strikes.

Parts of the agreement between the Iranian defense ministry and the Syrian air force have been made public.

“It is very likely that we will most likely witness Iran supplying radars and defense missiles, such as the 15 Khordad system, to bolster Syria’s air defenses,” the IRIN network reported, adding that only parts of a recent defense deal with Syria were being disclosed.

In an effort to prevent Iran from using aerial supply lines to transport weapons to Syria and Lebanon, Israel has increased its airstrikes on Syrian airports and air bases in recent months.

On 20 February, Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned Tel Aviv after Israeli airstrikes struck Damascus the previous day, killing at least five people and critically wounding 15 others. According to Syria’s state-run news agency SANA, the ministry urged “international action” to prevent further attacks on Syrian soil.

“Syria expects the United Nations Secretariat and Security Council to condemn Israeli aggression and crimes, take the necessary measures to deter them, hold them accountable, punish their perpetrators, and ensure they do not recur.”

The ministry further remarked that this attack comes in the context of recurring Israeli attacks against civilian targets and coincides with the recent attack by ISIS in Homs, which left at least 53 dead.

Coordination between Israel and ISIS in this case is unclear, though the Israeli air force has coordinated with the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front to bomb Syria in the past.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, said today that the Israeli aggressions against Syria are “temporary measures and will not have strategic effects,” although he described them as aggressive because “they violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, and it is necessary to dissuade them in international forums,” according to Al-Mayadeen news.

He stated that “Israel now faces many internal crises” because the political division and tension between the various political and religious currents in the country have reached an unprecedented level.

Despite the support of Europe and the United States, “a strategic balance has been formed in the interest of the Palestinian people and the resistance movement,” he added.

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