TEL AVIV (Sputnik) – The forces of Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah movement forces, fighting for Damascus in Syria, will return home as soon as the Syrian civil war is over, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov, presently on a visit to Israel, told The Jerusalem Post.
"I understand the fears of Israel relating to Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guards in Syria, and you of course fear that they will stay in Syria after the war," Syromolotov, who is in charge of counterterrorism, said Monday, stressing that Iran and Hezbolllah "will leave," as the war in Syria ends.
Israel demands that Iran be excluded from the Syrian settlement process, saying that its nuclear program, hostile rhetoric, and support of anti-Israel forces in the Middle East, including Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah movement, pose a threat to Israeli national security.
Earlier in February, Secretary General of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah threatened to launch strikes on the Dimona nuclear facility in southern Israel. In response, Israel’s Minister of Transportation and Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy Yisrael Katz threatened to target Lebanon.
