Israeli military official says Iran might send weapons to Syria under the guise of aid

An Israeli military official warned Iran against sending weapons to Syria in the guise of earthquake-related aid, making it clear that Israel will be ready to retaliate. Syria was hit by devastating series of earthquakes earlier this week, leading to the death of thousands of people in the country. While Turkey, which was hit the most by the tragedy is getting support from the International communities, the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria has become difficult, due to the current political climate in the country. In the midst of all the chaos, an Israeli security official expressed his concerns about the fact that Tehran can use this catastrophic event, as an opportunity to militarise Syria, Fox News reported. 

The official claim is that Iran can use the earthquake as a guise to funnel arms to the terrorist group Hezbollah. According to Fox News, Tehran has backed the terrorist group since its inception in the early 1980s. "There is information indicating that Iran will take advantage of the tragic situation in Syria and, under the cover of humanitarian aid, will send weapons and equipment to Hezbollah," the Israeli officer who chose to remain anonymous, told the Saudi news outlet, Elaph on Wednesday. “Israel stands ready to strike any equipment or weapons anywhere inside Syrian territory,” he added.  

Iran-Syria closeness a matter of worry for Israel 

The assertions from the Israeli military official came days after it was reported that the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani was allegedly spotted in the Syrian city of Latakia, to monitor the earthquake situation in the Syrian city. According to Fox News, it was also reported that Qaani met the local governor in the region as well. After this revelation, Israeli intelligence and security expert, Brig. Gen. (Res.) Yossi Kuperwasser told Fox News Digital that Iran has used “humanitarian crisis” to transport weapons, in the past. "Iran has in the past used humanitarian disasters to transport weapons clandestinely and illegally and may well try to use this humanitarian disaster in Syria as a decoy for transporting additional advanced weapons systems to Syria,” Kuperwasser asserted. The Iran-Syria closeness is a matter of worry for Israel since both Iran and Israel have engaged in a proxy war in Syria since the civil war broke out in the Middle Eastern country back in 2011. "Iran continues to exploit the Syrian weakness and dependence on external assistance to promote the Iranian strategy of regional dominance and deployment of weapons near Israel," Kuperwasser added.