Israeli defense minister seeks advanced weapons from US to fight Iran

Bennett is looking to acquire advanced weaponry to assist Israel in removing Iranian forces in Syria, sources say.

By World Israel News Staff

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett held a working meeting with his U.S. counterpart in Washington on Wednesday.

According to Ynet, Bennett and U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper “discussed at length the regional threats, most notably Iran’s aggression, with an emphasis on Iran’s attempts to militarily base itself on Syrian soil.”

Sources close to Bennett have said that the defense minister is looking to acquire advanced weaponry to assist Israel in removing Iranian forces in Syria, reports Arutz Sheva.

This is the first time Bennett has made an official visit to the U.S. since assuming the ministerial position last summer. Until Bennett’s return to Israel, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz is carrying out Bennett’s responsibilities related to Israel’s defense.

Israel’s defense minister has repeatedly made it clear that he will not tolerate Iranian forces near its borders.

While attending an IDF combat drill in the Golan Heights in Dec. 2020, the defense minister issued a warning to Iran if they continue to amass its forces in Syria.

“As long as Iran tries to establish itself on Syrian soil, it will sink in the sand dunes of Syria,” he said at the time.

Israel considers Iranian entrenchment along its border in Syria an unacceptable threat and has allegedly carried out hundreds of airstrikes to slow Iran’s buildup in the region and its supply of weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Syria’s T-4 airbase has allegedly been attacked regularly by Israel over the past couple of years. The airbase is believed to house Iranian forces, the Lebanese Hezbollah terror organization, and Syrian regime forces.

In January, the airbase was targeted causing material damage to the base and the death of three fighters in Iranian-backed militias. In an attack on the airbase over the summer, fighter jets destroyed an ammunition depot, several warehouses, and killed five soldiers, believed to be a part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Mark EsperNaftali Bennett