Iran threatens to cause ‘sorrow and penitence’ if Israel attacks its forces in Syria

If there are further airstrikes in Syria, Israel “will face reactions that would cause sorrow and penitence,” Iran threatened.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

A senior Iranian security official has threatened Israel with harsh “reactions” if the Jewish state “continues to attack” Iranian and government forces in Syria.

The semi-official Fars news agency quotes Ali Shamkhani of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council as saying that in case of further airstrikes, Israel “will face reactions that would cause sorrow and penitence.”

Earlier in September, Israel reportedly attacked the airport in the Syrian capital, Damascus, with missiles that are believed to have targeted arms depots there of the Iranian forces and or the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group — both allies of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s troops in the civil war.

Rouhani: Our presence in Syria will continue

Iran claims that its forces in Syria are in advisory role to the Syrian army in its war on Islamic State militants and armed opposition groups.

“Our presence in Syria will continue for such time that the Syrian government requests our presence,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told a news conference Wednesday at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that Israel will not tolerate an Iranian presence in Syria. Israel’s main concern is to keep Iran, which is fighting alongside the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, as far away from its border as possible — along with its terror proxy Hezbollah and other militia.