JERUSALEM: Israel’s defence minister on Friday called on President Bashar Assad to “get rid” of Iranian forces in Syria, warning their continued presence would only cause trouble.

Iran, meanwhile, in its first official reaction to Israeli attacks on suspected Iranian targets in Syria, said Israel’s attacks came “under fabricated and baseless excuses.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Braham Ghasemi added that Damascus has the legitimate right to respond to what it said were repeated violations of the country’s sovereignty.

A hard-line Iranian cleric threatened his country would retaliate if Israel “does anything foolish.” Israel attacked dozens of suspected Iranian targets in Syria in overnight strikes this week that it said were in response to an Iranian rocket barrage. It was the most serious military confrontation between the two bitter enemies to date. The cross-border exchange gave way to a war of words.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called late on Thursday for an immediate halt to “all hostile acts” to avoid “a new conflagration” in the Middle East.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2018