Thursday, December 12, 2024
ISLAMABAD (News International / Pakistan News - 12th Dec, 2024 ) Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has rejected Iranian allegations of a joint US-Israeli "conspiracy" to remove Bashar al-Assad from power in Syria and said that Tehran itself is responsible for the downfall of its ally.
It should be noted that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had alleged that the plan to overthrow former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and push Iran out of Syria was prepared by the US and Israel.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has rejected Iranian allegations of a joint US-Israeli "conspiracy" to remove Bashar al-Assad from power in Syria and said that Tehran itself is responsible for the downfall of its ally.
Katz accused his rival Iran of trying to establish a "front in the east" against Israel in the neighboring country and expressed his determination to prevent it.
According to a statement from Katz's office, he said Khamenei "should take responsibility" for this and that he should "stop funding armed groups in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza that he has been leading in their efforts to defeat the state of Israel."
Katz accused Iran of "funding and promoting terrorism" as well as "arms smuggling efforts" in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which borders Jordan.
What did the Iranian supreme leader say?
In his first comments since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, a key part of Iran's "axis of resistance," and his flight to Russia, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also criticized the neighboring country's role in the conflict, without naming Turkey.
According to Iranian media, he said in Tehran: "There should be no doubt that what happened in Syria is the result of a joint American and Israeli plan.
A neighboring government of Syria is also playing a clear role in this regard, but the real conspirators, the masterminds and its command center are in the hands of the American and Israeli governments."
He added that "we have evidence. Evidence that leaves no room for doubt."
The Supreme Leader's statements were broadcast on state TV, in which he said, "A neighboring state has played a clear role in this matter and it is doing so.
Everyone can see it."
By neighboring state, he probably meant Turkey, which is Syria's neighbor and has also been supporting opposition fighters.
Ayatollah Khamenei also rejected analysts' speculation that the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government would weaken Iran.
"These ignorant analysts are unaware of the meaning of resistance, they think that if resistance weakens, Islamic Iran will also weaken.
But I say that with God's help and power, God willing, Iran is strong and it will become even stronger."
In his speech, Khamenei also stressed that the unity under the leadership of Iran will be strengthened throughout the region.
"The more you put pressure, the stronger the resistance will become. The more crimes you commit, the more determined it becomes.
The more you fight against it, the more it will spread," he said.
Hafez al-Assad's tomb destroyed
Syrian rebel fighters have destroyed the tomb of the late Hafez al-Assad, father of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, in his hometown.
In some verified videos, some armed men can be seen walking around a burning tomb in Qardah, northwest of Latakia.
Rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have launched a rapid offensive across Syria, toppling the 54-year-old Assad family. Bashar al-Assad has fled to Russia, where he and his family have been granted asylum.
Statues and posters of Bashar al-Assad and his father Hafez al-Assad have been removed from across the country as Syrians celebrate the end of their rule.
Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria ruthlessly from 1971 until his death in 2000, when he handed power to his son, Bashar al-Assad.
He was born and raised in a family of Alawites, a branch of Shiite Islam and a religious minority in Syria, most of whom live in Latakia province, on the Mediterranean coast near the Turkish border.
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