A threat (from Syria to Israel) not to be lightly dismissed

Probably out of an arrogance developed over the years - and a military superiority over any other country in the region - Israel has, with impunity, attacked Syria, Lebanon and Iran.

But the bitten can also bite back! And Syria has warned Israel in no uncertain terms that it is now a target, if this report in The Sunday Times is correct.

"Syria has put its most advanced missiles on standby with orders to hit Tel Aviv if Israel launches another raid on its territory.

Reconnaissance satellites have been monitoring preparations by the Syrian army to deploy surface-to-surface Tishreen missiles.

An Israeli official told The New York Times that Israel, which has launched three recent attacks on Syria, was considering further strikes and warned President Bashar al-Assad that his government would face “crippling consequences” if he hit back at Israel.

The deployment of the Syrian-made Tishreen missiles, each of which can carry a half-ton payload, marks a significant escalation of tension in a region in which the United States and Russia appear to be preparing for a Cold War-style stand-off.

In a signal of its continued support for Assad, Russia last week sent a dozen warships to patrol the eastern Mediterranean close to its Syrian naval base in Tartus, its only naval outpost outside the former Soviet Union.

“This very much resembles the Cold War days when the Russian navy was patrolling the Mediterranean alongside the US Sixth Fleet,” said a Middle East analyst."

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