T. Belman. I recently opined that, “Iran won’t agree to a solution which requires them to lose their Syrian proxy”. I wrote that this is particularly so because they are backed by Russia and China. I sent the article to Gen Vallely who presented such a plan to Putin and asked for his opinion. He has not yet responded. I also sent it to Alex Maistrovoy, a Russian-Israel journalist and a friend of mine. He replied:
Yes, Ted, I agree completely with your analysis – Syria is vital important for Iran. if Iran will lose Syria it risks to give up not only Lebanon but Iraq too to Sunnis. So it will support Asad by all means.
regarding your questions:
1. Does Russia want to be partners with Iran as it extends its hegemony from Lebanon to the Persian Gulf?
Russia is natural partner of Iran. it wants like Iran to undermine US influence and its partners – Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states; it sees Iran as natural barrier against radical Sunni; it wants like Iran to weaken Turks with Erdogan and his Muslim Brothers. So it wants strong Iran in any case.2. Is Russia a threat to Israel?
No, Russia is not itself treat to Israel. there are some cooperation between two countries including change of important intelligence information regarding Sunni radicals, they support together al-Sisi and so on. Russia have too many enemies to spoil relations with Israel: it buys now many products from Israel and wants to cooperate with it in high tech. There are good relations between Bibi and Putin – there is hot line between them. In last war in Gaza Putin supported Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia against Kerri who supported Turkey and Qatar.
Russian anti-aircraft missile battery (file
Ex-Lebanese general tells Iranian media that greater cooperation between Moscow and Tehran has eclipsed US worldwide.
Retired Lebanese General Walid al-Zaitouni told the semi-official Iranian Fars News Agency on Saturday that the growing Iranian and Russian alliance is creating a new “hegemony” in the Middle East, and has effectively ended American influence in the region.
The Lebanese military analyst opined to the Iranian paper that the growing military involvement of Moscow and Tehran in the internecine civil war in Syria, where the two are propping up the autocratic leader Bashar al-Assad, is challenging “US hegemony in the world.”
“In the current stage that Russia has strengthened and Iran has also grown stronger militarily and economically, cooperation between Russia and Iran is considered as a serious threat to the US plots and hegemony,” said al-Zaitouni.
“The US has not been able to fully implement its plots in Syria in the past 5 years and it cannot now witness Iran and Russia foil its plots in the region and therefore, it is after creating rift between the two main regional powers at any costs,” he said, apparently accusing the US of trying to somehow sow discord between Iran and Russia.
But al-Zaitouni “underlined the US failure in its new tricks,” according to Fars, and said the “era of a unipolar world is over.”
Russia’s recently growing role in the fighting in Syria has not been without its mishaps. One of Moscow’s fighter jets was shot down by Turkey last week near the Syrian border, leading to a serious fallout between the two nations that on Saturday included Russia sanctioning Ankara.
President Vladimir Putin also last week dispatched the advanced S-400 anti-aircraft missile system to a Russian army base in the western Syrian city of Latakia, in a move that American officials responded to by expressing serious concern.
The advanced system is capable of shooting down planes within a 250 mile range, posing a serious threat to air activity in the entire region.
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