Things are getting serious regarding the situation in Syria. We are probably days away from a U.S. attack and the warnings are increasing from Russia, Iran, China and Syria.
Before getting to the news, let us all remember why we watch the unfolding of the final prophecies of this age:
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
(John 14:1-4)
A senior Iranian lawmaker said Israel would be the first casualty of any U.S.-led strike on Syria, according to regional media reports.
Hossein Sheikholeslam, the director general of the Iranian parliament’s International Affairs bureau, claimed the United States would not dare attack Syria but said that if it does, “the Zionist regime will be the first victim.”
“No military attack will be waged against Syria,” Sheikholeslam was quoted as saying on Monday by Iran’s state run Fars News Agency.
“Yet, if such an incident takes place, which is impossible, the Zionist regime will be the first victim of a military attack on Syria,” Sheikholeslam said in an apparent response to the Obama administration’s increasingly stern rhetoric against Syria.
Iran has been one of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s chief allies. It has sent Hezbollah reinforcements to battle rebel forces and acted as Assad’s chief defender in the Middle East.
As the Obama administration hints that it is gearing up to intervene in Syria following the reported use of chemical weapons, Iranian officials have similarly ramped up their rhetoric.
Sheikholeslam said Assad would immediately respond to a U.S. attack by going after the Jewish state with the full force of his military.
Syria can “heavily attack and raze the occupied territories,” Fars reported him as saying.
Russia has consistently thrown its support behind Assad, providing him with advanced weapons and blocking concrete action at the United Nations.
“The U.S. as well as the western and Arab states and certain regional countries are beating on the drums of war, but they should know that this is not to their benefit,” Esmayeeli was quoted as saying by Fars.
Esmayeeli, in an apparent reference to America’s defense budget cuts, went on to say that the United States is in no condition to wage a war against Syria. If America “starts a war with Syria, the U.S. will not achieve its desirable and needed results,” Esmayeeli said.
Russian leaders, increasingly convinced that the West is preparing for imminent military action inSyria, kept up a barrage of criticism Tuesday over what they claim will be an "illegal" and potentially "catastrophic" intervention into the affairs of a sovereign state.
A frustrated and increasingly despondent Moscow has already made clear that it can and will do nothing to stand in the way of Western military action against Syria, leaving it with few options beyond diplomatic sniping and rhetorical appeals to global public opinion.Russia has argued that Western nations arestampeding to judgement before all the facts are in about last week's alleged nerve gas attack in a Damascus suburb that may have killed more than 1,000 people.
Russia is also stressing that, absent a UN Security Council resolution authorizing force, any attack on Syria will be a violation of international law and a slippery slope that could lead to greater chaos in the region.
With the US poised for military action in Syria and amid uncertainty as to how Damascus will react, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon made clear Tuesday that while Israel will not get involved, it will respond severely if attacked.
“The State of Israel is ready for any scenario,” Netanyahu said at the end of urgent security consultations held in Tel Aviv. “We are not part of the civil war in Syria, but if we identify any attempt whatsoever to harm us, we will respond and we will respond with strength.”
An axis of evil does indeed extend from Tehran, through Damascus to Beirut, he said, and the “enlightened world” today understands what crimes against humanity that axis is capable of perpetrating.
“We are aware of the events these days in the Middle East developing before our eyes, and also hear the threats directed to Israel, even though we are not involved in the bloody conflict in Syria or in other conflicts in the Middle East,” he said.
“We remain responsible and deliberate in the face of these threats, but also say with a clear and determined voice: Whoever dares to test us will encounter the strength of the IDF.”
The prime minister’s pointed remarks were the latest in a string of vehement statements issued by Jerusalem and Damascus, with both sides threatening military action if they were struck.
However, Netanyahu’s 11-second message was widely seen in Israel as an attempt to deter Syria rather than to escalate the crisis. And Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and IDF Chief of the General Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz spoke in similar vein Tuesday evening.
“We hear the threats,” said Ya’alon, “even though we are not involved in the Syrian civil war.” He added: “We say loud and clear, whoever dares to test us will meet the power of the IDF.”
The IDF was “sharp” and prepared ”to do whatever is necessary” to protect the people of Israel, added Gantz.
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