I won’t be at all surprised to see Israel do something fairly violent about this.
An Israeli television report said on Tuesday that Iran is building a facility in northwest Syria to manufacture long-range rockets, and showed satellite images it said were of the site under construction.
. . .
The Channel 2 television news report showed images it said were taken by an Israeli satellite showing a site in northwest Syria near the Mediterranean coastal town of Baniyas, saying some of the construction indicated explosives would be stored there.
The images from the Eros B satellite showcase the site’s ability to store underground missiles, the reports said.
It compared images of buildings it said were of a rocket factory near Tehran to structures at the Syrian site, and said there was a strong resemblance between them.
There’s more at the link, including photographs.
There’s no way Israel will permit the manufacture or assembly of such missiles in a location where Hezbollah or Hamas terrorists can get their hands on them. It’s too great a threat to Israel’s security. I’ve no doubt that warnings have already been dispatched to all concerned, setting a hard deadline for the demolition of the entire site. If those warnings aren’t heeded, I daresay Israel will do the demolition itself. That won’t please Russia, which sees Syria as a client state, but I suspect they’ll understand, and probably won’t protest too loudly.
Peter
…and then everyone will condemn Israel for being "terrorists" simply for having the temerity to abide by their own sense of self-preservation.
O Sirak all over again?
LittleRed1
I would not be surprised if this is not another Israeli lie to justify attacking Syria again. We need to end all aid to Israel.
And your evidence is, Mr. Mallory? And what possible reason would they have for doing so?
It does seem odd that the people who've made an unceasing succession of threats to destroy Israel are never to be taken at face value, while the side that has repeatedly stated all they want is peaceful coexistence (and has, repeatedly, given up land it captured from its enemies when attacked in a quest for peace) is somehow to believe to harbor all sorts of malign intent that must – must, they clamor! – be taken at the face value given it by the obviously pure and unbiased people who make these repeated assertions without evidence.
Peter,
I can't shake the feeling that the current period of relative peace will end sooner rather than later – there hasn't been a 'real' full scale war in quite a while now and I feel it is overdue. It could involve Syria, North Korea, Iran, and/ or China on one side and the US, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Britain, various Gulf States, etc on the other side. Oh, and of course don't forget the heating up triangle that is India/ Pakistan/ China either!
The most likely, to me, is growing problems and possibly outright war on 2 or more of those fronts as well, not to mention 'brush fire' fighting in Africa and possibly South America as well.
Very few people understand how much of a 'Pax Americana' there has been since WWII and how much of a knife edge international relations are on at this point in time.
I will be surprised if Trump finishes this term without at least a notable shooting war somewhere, probably one involving Americans in at least a peripheral way.
Jonathan
There shall be wars and rumors of wars… Mark 13:7.