Israel will ‘regret aggression against Syria’: Iran

Israel will regret its latest “aggression against Syria”, a top Iranian official visiting Damascus told reporters on Monday.

“Just like it regretted all its wars... the Zionist entity will regret its aggression against Syria,” said National Security Council head Said Jalili, a day after Israel implicitly confirmed it staged an air strike near Damascus last week.

“Today, too, both the people and the government of Syria are serious regarding the issue. And also the Islamic community is supporting Syria,” he said.

Jalili said Iran, in its current role as head of the Non-Aligned Movement, would work on Syria’s behalf on the international stage in response to the attack.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Sunday the attack on a Syrian arms complex showed Israel was serious about preventing the flow of heavy weapons into Lebanon, appearing to acknowledge for the first time that Israel had carried out the strike.

Diplomats, Syrian rebels and security sources say Israeli jets bombed a convoy near the Lebanese border, apparently hitting weapons destined for Hezbollah.

Embattled President Bashar al-Assad accused Israel on Sunday of trying to destabilize Syria following reported attacks on a weapons convoy and a military research base outside Damascus last week.

Assad vowed that his regime will retaliate as his allies rushed to denounce the strike which threatened to take the conflict beyond Syria’s borders.

Tehran has provided the Assad’s regime with unequivocal support throughout the country’s 22-month conflict, which the U.N. says has left more than 60,000 people dead.

Analysts have warned of the potential regional spillover of the conflict, which has divided the international community into two camps.

One Russia-led camp has backed Assad, the other, led by the United States, has supported the revolt.