Iran building missile factory in Syria- Israel media

Jerusalem: An Israeli television report on Tuesday said, Iran is constructing a facility in northwest Syria to manufacture long-range missile, and showed satellite photographs it said were of the site under construction.

According to a report by Financial Express, last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran was strengthening its stronghold in its ally Syria as Islamic State fighters were being displaced, and said Israel was watching developments and would act against any threat.

“Our policy is clear: We vehemently oppose the military buildup by Iran and its proxies, primarily Hezbollah, in Syria and we will do whatever it takes to protect Israel’s security,” he said in a speech.

The Channel 2 television news report showed images it said were taken by an Israeli satellite near the Mediterranean coastal town of Baniyas, saying some of the construction indicated explosives would be stored there. It compared images of buildings, claiming were of a rocket factory near Tehran to structures at the Syrian site and said there was a strong resemblance between them.

Netanyahu has been critical of a 2015 deal that six world powers including the United States under former-president Barack Obama struck with Iran to curb its nuclear program in return for an end to multilateral sanctions.

Also read: Iran rules out halt to missile tests as tension with US rises

The United States last month slapped new economic sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile program and said Tehran’s “malign activities” in the Middle East had undercut any “positive contributions” from the 2015 accord curbing its nuclear program.

US President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the agreement, however, US news reports have said that Israeli intelligence officials will discuss the situation in Syria and Lebanon with US counterparts in Washington this week.