The head of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign-policy committee, Heshmatollah Falahat-Pisheh, expressed “anger” towards Russia for not activating the S-300 air-defense system deployed in Syria during an Israeli retaliation this week near Damascus.
“The Israelis claim their actions are against Iran, while they are attacking Syrian infrastructure, security and defense installations,” he said on Thursday.
In response to Iranian fighter jets firing a surface-to-surface missile at the Golan Heights the previous day, Israeli warplanes launched a massive attack on numerous Iranian targets in Syria on Monday.
Among the locations hit were a site at the Damascus International Airport, munition storage facilities, an Iranian military training camp and an Iranian intelligence site, according to the Israel Defense Forces. These reprisals killed an estimated 11 pro-regime soldiers.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the sites belonged to the Iranian Quds Force, which conducts Iranian Revolutionary Guards operations abroad.
Russia responded and warned Israel on Wednesday to stop its “arbitrary” airstrikes in Syria, saying that they should be “ruled out.”
Editor’s note: Israeli officials met with their Russian counterparts before the Israeli strike. The Russians waited until Wednesday before making any statement. The Russians are not planning on activating the S-300 before March. From all appearances, the Russians are fine with Israel attacking Iranian targets in Syria, for the moment.