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Netanyahu says Iran's growing activity in Syria poses threat to Israel

(Xinhua)    21:14, August 23, 2017

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Iran's growing activity in Syria poses a threat to Israel.

Netanyahu made the remarks at his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi.

"Mr. President, with joint efforts we are defeating Islamic State, and this is a very important thing. But the bad thing is that where the defeated Islamic State group vanishes, Iran is stepping in," a statement released by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office quoted Netanyahu as saying.

"We cannot forget for a single minute that Iran threatens every day to annihilate Israel," he added.

The Israeli leader also charged that Iran "arms terrorist organizations, sponsors and initiates terror."

"Iran is already well on its way to controlling Iraq, Yemen and to a large extent is already in practice in control of Lebanon," he noted.

Israel has long warned that the weapons Syria and Iran buy from Russia fall in the hands of Hezbollah, Israel's arch enemy.

Iran, however, rejects all the allegations from the Jewish state.

In 2015, Russia first sent troops to Syria to fight on the side of President Bashar Assad's regime.

Over the past months, Russia has been advancing cease-fire zones in Syria. Israel worries that these areas will enable Iran to further establish its foothold in Syria, allowing it and its proxy, the Lebanese militia of Hezbollah, to further deploy their forces across the Syria-Israel border.

Netanyahu arrived at the Wednesday meeting together with Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, and Meir Ben-Shabbat, head of the National Security Council.

The two intelligence chiefs presented Putin with the evidence of Iran's activities in Syria.

Over the past weeks, Israeli officials have been holding talks with Russian and U.S. officials, asking the two powers to minimize Iran's presence in Syria and prevent it from building permanent military bases in the country in case of a possible agreement to end the country's six-year war.

Israel and Russia agreed to coordinate military actions over Syria to avoid accidental clashes two years ago. It is their sixth meeting since then.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Web editor: Chen Lidan, Bianji)

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