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Report: Satellite Images Depict New Iranian Military Base Near Damascus

According to a Fox News report, Iran has built a new military facility 5 miles northwest of Damascus, which, based on satellite imagery captured by the Israeli company ImageSat, may contain hangars capable of housing missiles that can reach the Jewish state. A similar Iranian-constructed base, located at al-Kiswah, just south of the Syrian capital, was targeted in December by Israeli air strikes. In response to the publication, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman told Israel Public Radio early Wednesday morning that, “not every report has to be treated as something absolute.” He then reiterated that Israel will not countenance a permanent Iranian military presence in Syria. The latest revelation follows the first direct confrontation between Jerusalem and Tehran on February 10, triggered by the penetration of Israeli airspace by an advanced Iranian drone. In turn, Israeli warplanes struck twelve Syrian and Iranian assets, destroying up to fifty percent of Syria’s air defense systems. One Israeli jet that came under heavy anti-aircraft missile fire was downed, an incident the IDF has since attributed to errors made by the pilot. A report earlier this month claimed that Iran is operating ten military bases in Syria—two of them located near the Golan Heights border—and is training Shiite fighters for a possible battle with Israel.