The U.S. said the target was a truck convoy carrying weapons bound for Hezbollah (Baz Ratner/REUTERS) Syria and Iran have threatened to retaliate for an Israeli air raid near the capital Damascus.
Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul-Karim Ali said Damascus has "the option and the surprise to retaliate." He said he cannot predict when the retaliation will be, saying it is up to relevant authorities to prepare for it.
In Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Thursday as saying the raid on Syria will have significant implications for the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
U.S. officials said Israel launched a rare airstrike inside Syria on Wednesday, targeting a convoy believed to contain anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon. The Syrian military denied the existence of any such shipment and said a scientific research facility outside Damascus was hit.
Hezbollah condemned Israel's airstrike on Syria as "barbaric aggression".
International condemnation
Russia, Syria's strongest international ally, said Moscow is taking "urgent measures to clarify the situation in all its details."
"If this information is confirmed, we have a case of unprovoked attacks on targets in the territory of a sovereign state, which grossly violates the U.N. Charter and is unacceptable," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. "Whatever the motives, this is not justified."
Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi condemned the airstrike on state television, calling it a clear violation of Syria's sovereignty.
Hezbollah, closely allied with Syria and Iran, said it "expresses full solidarity with Syria's command, army and people."
Hezbollah did not mention any convoy in the statement but said the strike aimed to prevent Arab and Muslim forces from developing their military capabilities.
'Well-known' centre
Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Jassem al-Shallal, who became in December one of the most senior Syrian army officers to defect, said from Turkey that the targeted site is a "major and well-known" centre to develop weapons known as the Scientific Research Center.
Al-Shallal, who until his defection was the commander of the Military Police, said no chemical or unconventional weapons are at the site.
Israeli regional security officials said Wednesday the shipment included sophisticated Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles, which if acquired by Hezbollah would be "game-changing," enabling the militants to shoot down Israeli jets, helicopters and surveillance drones. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Possibility of future strikes
In Israel, lawmaker Tzachi Hanegbi who is close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stopped short of confirming Israel's involvement in the strike.
But he hinted that Israel could carry out similar missions in the future. He said pinpoint strikes are not enough to counter the threat of Hezbollah obtaining sophisticated weaponry from Syria.
"Israel's preference would be if a Western entity would control these weapons systems," Hanegbi said. "But because it appears the world is not prepared to do what was done in Libya or other places, then Israel finds itself like it has many times in the past facing a dilemma that only it knows how to respond to," he added.
He was referring to NATO's 2011 military intervention in Libya that helped oust dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
"Even if there are reports about pinpoint operations, these are not significant solutions to the threat itself because we are talking about very substantial capabilities that could reach Hezbollah," he added.
Syria's civil war has sapped President Bashar Assad's power and threatens to deprive Hezbollah of a key supporter, in addition to its land corridor to Iran. The two countries provide Hezbollah with the bulk of its funding and arms.
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