IDF soldiers monitoring the Syrian border. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified Tuesday after landing in New York City ahead of his address to the United Nations that he will not allow Syria to be used as a base for Iranian attacks against Israel.

Netanyahu’s statement echoed the sentiments of Israeli Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz, who said Tuesday that keeping Iranian forces inside Iran would be a top priority in all talks with the U.S. and other world powers.

Steinitz told Army Radio, “No one wants to see Russian military forces in the Golan Heights. That is also cause for concern. Russia is still the second-strongest military power in the world. But we certainly don’t want to see Iranian forces right next to Israel.”

Similarly, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon — who toured Israel’s Gaza-border communities Tuesday — said, “We have no intention to give up our ability to defend our interests. And I do not suggest anyone test us….On the northern border, in Syria, there has not been calm in four years. Still, we are succeeding at keeping the threat away from the residents of the north and the Golan region.”