Netanyahu says Israeli planes intercepted Iranian ones sent to rescue embattled Syrian leader Assad

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli warplanes past twelvemonth intercepted Iranian craft headed toward Syria, preventing them from delivering troops meant to assistance the country’s embattled president astatine the time, Bashar Assad, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.

The remarks successful a code gave a caller glimpse into Israel's reasoning successful the last days successful powerfulness for Assad, a longtime force who was overthrown by insurgents past December.

Speaking to a league hosted by the Jewish News Syndicate, a pro-Israel quality agency, Netanyahu claimed that arch-rival Iran wanted to prevention Assad aft watching the Iranian-backed Hezbollah radical successful neighboring Lebanon endure dense losses successful warring with Israel.

“They had to rescue Assad,” Netanyahu said, claiming that Iran wanted to nonstop “one oregon 2 airborne divisions” to assistance the Syrian leader.

“We stopped that. We sent immoderate F-16s to immoderate Iranian planes that were making immoderate routes to Damascus,” helium said. “They turned back.”

He gave nary further details.

In warring past fall, Israel detonated hundreds of booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies utilized by Hezbollah, days earlier assassinating the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Netanyahu told the assemblage that helium pushed guardant the pager attacks aft Israel learned that Hezbollah had grown suspicious and sent immoderate of the devices to Iran for testing.

“I said, 'We’ll person to bash it close away,” helium said.

Israel and a weakened Hezbollah reached a ceasefire successful November, ending much than a twelvemonth of fighting. Israeli forces stay successful parts of confederate Lebanon.