Memo for Israel: Moscow is unaware of any Iranian military base near Palmyra, says deputy FM

Sputnik
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 12:01 UTC

© Sputnik/ Mikhail Alayeddin

Palmyra recaptured by Syrian Arab Army backed by Russian Air Force

The Russian Foreign Ministry has no information about Iran having a military base near the Syrian city of Palmyra, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Monday.

"No, I do not have such information," Bogdanov told reporters when asked whether Moscow was aware of Iran's military base near Palmyra.

Speaking further, the senior official noted that Russia was urging to avoid the escalation of tensions in the region after Israel's strikes on Syria.

"We call on everyone to be calm, to prevent a very dangerous escalation in countries of the region," Bogdanov told reporters.

The statement comes several days after Israeli Defense Forces released footage allegedly showing the downing of an Iranian drone by an Israeli attack helicopter and the subsequent airstrike against it on the Syrian soil.

The Israeli attack prompted response fire from the Syrian air defense systems. In the second wave of the attack, the Israeli forces struck 12 targets in Syria, including Syrian air defense batteries and Iranian military facilities, the country's Defense Forces (IDF) said.

Commenting on the situation, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that the US considered the incident to be Iran's "calculated escalation" of tension.

Comment: Yeah right. Read here: Colin Powell's former chief of staff: 'I helped sell the war on Iraq. It's happening again.'

At the same time, Iran dubbed Israel's reports of a downed drone "ridiculous," saying that the Islamic Republic had only an "advisory, not a military presence" in Syria.

Iran has already been accused by Israel, the US and some of their allies of providing arms to the Hezbollah movement that is fighting terrorists alongside the Syrian army. Tehran has denied the claims, though admitted its political support for the Shiite movement.

Comment: The comment about no Iraninan bases near Palmyra is significant because it contradicts the Israeli justification for bombing Syria this time:

Syria Shoots Down Israeli Jet - It's About Time

[...]

This is the first time an Israeli F-16 was brought down since Israel began using the jets in the 1980s. The Israeli narrative around the events is typically hypocritical. According to Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus, an "Iranian drone" was intercepted and brought down over Israeli territory.

According to several sources, the Israeli military stated that it had the offending drone in its possession. But then Conricus posted a video to twitter supposedly showing the 'Iranian drone' being destroyed.

If that video is truly of the 'Iranian drone', I suppose the Israelis could technically have 'it' in their possession, in the form of 10,000 tiny fragments. But you'll forgive me if I call BS on this one.

Anyway, the 'drone incursion' provoked the initial Israeli attack on what Conricus claims was "an Iranian drone control facility near the desert city of Palmyra". As the Israeli jets were returning to Israel, they came under sustained Syrian anti-aircraft fire leading to the crash of the F-16 near Harduf. [...]

Unless the Israelis meant a mobile control facility. But even so, this is a minor point considering that Israel has been bombing Syria for a long time to cover the terrorists on the ground, in the hope that they will topple the Assad government. Who gave them the moral or legal right to do so?