Russian Missiles Alarm Israel, Stoking Risk of Next Syria Crisis
- Threatened delivery of S-300 air defenses to Assad is red line
- Israel would likely try to blow them up, says ex-intel chief
U.S. Led Strikes Against Syria Send Message to Russia
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Angered by last week’s U.S. attack on Syria, Russia warned that there would be consequences. Only one of them was spelled out: The Kremlin said it may supply its Syrian ally with state-of-the-art air defenses.
If the prospect rings alarm bells among President Bashar al-Assad’s enemies, they’re likely to be loudest in Israel, not the U.S. Israel carries out airstrikes in Assad-controlled Syrian territory much more frequently than the U.S., as it seeks to prevent a military buildup near Israeli borders by Assad’s other key backer, Iran.