WASHINGTON — An Israeli-linked airstrike in Syria on Sunday is drawing attention to an element of the messy Syrian civil war that the U.S. has tried to downplay: the Obama administration’s failure to check the growing influence of Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, within Syria, as the U.S. and its allies have focused instead on rooting out the Islamic State.
Analysts say the strike could force the U.S. focus away from the fight against the Islamic State, fuel retribution against Israel and bolster tensions with Iran — just as the West tries to achieve a deal on that country’s disputed nuclear program.
Hezbollah said Sunday that the strike in Syria’s Quneitra region, which is near the Israel-controlled Golan Heights, killed six members of the group, including the prominent son of one of Hezbollah’s top leaders. The strike took on even greater importance when Tehran later said it had also killed a top Iranian general.
Iran has long been the chief geopolitical concern of Israel, the major U.S. ally in the region. Tehran is the main backer of both Hezbollah and the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Analysts say it has poured resources and fighters into the Syrian conflict to shore up Assad so that it can preserve its weapons supply routes to Hezbollah and retain its ability to threaten Israel. Hezbollah itself fought a monthlong war against Israel in 2006, and it continues to threaten the country, most recently when its leader boasted in a Jan. 15 speech about the Iranian missiles his group had amassed.
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Syrian activists have claimed that Israel has gone as far as coordinating with the Syrian al Qaeda affiliate, the Nusra Front, which has fought against Assad’s forces alongside more moderate rebel groups in the south.
Israel’s security cabinet will meet Tuesday to discuss how to manage security concerns following the Syria strike, an official told Haaretz.
The outlet also reported that some Israeli army soldiers posted in the country’s north, near Syria, had been forbidden to take leave as tensions rose. The Israeli news channel i24news said forces in the north were on high alert, and that part of the country’s Iron Dome missile defense system had been deployed.
