Iran’s potential role in enforcing a security zone in southern Syria has raised concerns for Israel, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford said Tuesday, Stars and Stripes reports.
Under an agreement signed last week in Astana, Turkey, several large areas of western and southern Syria would become protected areas where the use of weapons, including airstrikes, would be prohibited. Russia, Iran and Turkey would be empowered to “take all necessary measures” to enforce the peace in these zones. One of the zones would be in southern Syria along the Israeli-Syrian border by the Golan Heights.
Dunford, who was in Israel this week, said Israel is concerned about the possibility of having Iranian or Iranian-backed forces, such as Hizbullah, so close to its border. “We’re concerned too,” Dunford said. Israel “would want to make sure, as these zones are proposed, that their security concerns are going to be addressed.”
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
