Israel will not acknowledge int'l agreements on Syria

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday said that any international agreements regarding post-war Syria would not be binding on Israel.

“With all due respect for agreements and treaties [on Syria], they will not be considered binding for us,” Lieberman was quoted as saying by Israeli daily Haaretz.

“We are committed solely to the interests of Israel's security,” he added.

The defense minister did not say exactly what agreements he had in mind, but senior Israeli officials have repeatedly stressed their rejection of any long-term Iranian military presence in Syria.

On Monday, Iranian media outlets reported that Tehran and Damascus had signed a number of military and reconstruction agreements during a visit to Syria by Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami.

Speaking to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth on Thursday, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said that a permanent Iranian presence in Syria would “endanger” Syria’s Assad regime.

“We are determined to prevent [long-term] Iranian deployments in Syria,” he asserted.

Israel frequently accuses Tehran of exploiting the conflict in neighboring Syria -- where Iran supports the Assad regime -- to establish a permanent military presence near Israel’s border.