MOSCOW — Russian intelligence foiled a terror attack on this week’s massive Victory Day memorial march in Moscow, a top Russian diplomat said on Friday.

About 1 million people marched through central Moscow on Wednesday in the annual Immortal Regiment rally, carrying pictures of family members killed in World War II. President Vladimir Putin and visiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined the march on May 9, the day when Russia marks the end of the war.

Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said in an interview with the Tass news agency on Friday that several terror groups in western Siberia had stockpiled weapons for the attack. Twenty people have been detained and 17 homes were searched as part of the investigation, he said.

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The announcement came as Russia is gearing up to host the World Cup next month.

Russia’s top intelligence agency last month reported the arrests of men suspected to have links to the Islamic State group in Siberia and the Moscow region. The FSB agency said four members of the suspected IS “sleeper cell” were detained in the Moscow region after they traveled from Novy Urengoi, an oil town in western Siberia. The FSB said they plotted attacks in Moscow and were receiving orders from IS members in Syria via a messaging app.

Oil and gas-rich western Siberia has for decades attracted workers from all over Russia, including the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus.

Russia has been providing air cover for Syrian President Bashar Assad since 2015, while thousands of its own citizens went off to Syria to join IS in fighting against Assad’s government.</s>A photograph provided by the Israeli Ministry of Defense in December 2015 shows a launch of the David's Sling missile defense system. Ministry of Defense via AP
• Netanyahu left saying he thought Russia wouldn't intervene in Israel protecting itself.
• On Wednesday night, a massive air war broke out between Iranian forces in Syria and Israeli jets; Israel has said it destroyed numerous Iranian sites.
• Putin has warned Netanyahu against attacking Syrian sites, but when it comes to Israel versus Iranians, he seems not to care.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Moscow's Victory Day parade on Wednesday. Hours later, a massive air war broke out in which, Israel says, it destroyed dozens of Iranian sites in Syria.

Statements from Netanyahu suggest that Putin may have given the green light before the attack.

Netanyahu left Russia saying that "there is a need to ensure the continuation of military coordination between the Russian military and the Israel Defence Forces." On Wednesday night, the IDF coordinated a massive series of strikes on Iranian targets across Syria, Russia's ally, Israel said.

Israel says it has hit targets in Syria more than 100 times since 2012 and maintains that it will continue to strike wherever it sees Iranian forces and assets that pose a threat to its security.

Russia has typically not acknowledged the Israeli incursions, but the fighting escalated massively on Wednesday night.

The IDF told Israel's Channel 10 News that more than 50 targets were hit in the strike, making it the largest attack carried out by Israel in Syria since the two signed an agreement following the end of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

Israel said that around 1 a.m. local time, 20 Iranian Grad and Fajr rockets came streaking in toward northern Israel. The rockets, Israel said, were either intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system or fell short of their targets.

The Iranian barrage was expected. Israel had opened bomb shelters and warned its citizens of an impending attack after several suspected Israeli airstrikes had killed Iranians in Syria and laid waste to hundreds of rockets.

After the salvo, 28 Israeli jets flew over Syria, firing nearly 60 rockets and 10 surface-to-surface missiles, said Michael Horowitz, an analyst at the security consultancy LeBeck International, citing Russia's defense ministry.

Putin stepped into the Syrian civil war in 2015 as a guarantor of Syrian President Bashar Assad's security. He has stood by Assad even as the Syrian leader has been accused of conducting chemical warfare and other barbaric acts on his own people.

Each of the two times the US struck Syria, in what Washington characterized as punishment for chemical warfare, the prospect loomed that Russia could defend the Syrian targets or retaliate on their behalf.

But that does not appear to be the case when Israel strikes Syria.

In February, after Israel downed an Iranian drone it said was armed and flying in Israeli airspace, IDF jets were said to have knocked out half of Syria's air defenses in a massive air war; Israel lost an F-16 to Syrian missiles.

"The response to the downing of the Israeli jet was intended to be a lot more violent," the investigative journalist Ronen Bergman wrote in an op-ed article in The New York Times at the time.

A "furious phone call" from Putin was enough to make Netanyahu "cancel the plans," Bergman wrote. Netanyahu, most likely out for blood after losing a jet to Syrian forces, then offered a more muted response.

In mid-April, after Israel was again thought to have attacked Iranian forces in Syria, Putin called Netanyahu to warn him against striking targets in Syria.

Earlier this month, an Israeli security cabinet minister suggested that Israel could kill Assad if he were to interfere in Israel's campaign to stop Iran's buildup of forces on its border.

Russia said Syrian air defenses shot down several Israeli missiles on Wednesday night.

Russia has staked its credibility in the Middle East on ensuring Assad's survival against Western forces, which have openly mulled deposing the Syrian leader.

But when it comes to Israel striking Iranians in Syria, Ephraim Sneh, a former Israeli deputy defense minister told Business Insider he didn't think the Russians "actually care too much."

Russia operates advanced air defenses and an air force in Syria that have the ability to engage Israeli targets, but by all accounts, Moscow's forces stood down when Israeli missiles started flying.</s>JERUSALEM >> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with President Vladimir Putin and discuss military coordination amid new strikes in Syria blamed on Israel.

Together with Putin, Netanyahu toured a parade celebrating the anniversary of the World War II victory over the Nazis and then met the Russian president at the Kremlin for consultations. Netanyahu he said he was eager to discuss ways of “solving crises and removing threats in a thoughtful and responsible manner.”

After 10 hours together, Netanyahu said he conveyed Israel’s obligation to defend itself against Iranian aggression.

“I think that matters were presented in a direct and forthright manner, and this is important. These matters are very important to Israel’s security at all times and especially at this time,” he said.

Syrian state media said Israel struck a military outpost on Tuesday near the capital of Damascus. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missiles targeted depots and rocket launchers that likely belonged to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard in Kisweh, killing at least 15 people, eight of them Iranians.

Tensions between Israel and Iran are high over Iran’s efforts to expand its military presence in Syria, where it is a key ally of President Bashar Assad. Repeated airstrikes attributed to Israel have killed Iranian fighters and prompted threats of reprisal from Tehran. President Donald Trump’s announcement Tuesday that the U.S. would withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran has triggered uncertainty and threatened to spark more unrest in the Middle East.

“The meetings between us are always important and this one is especially so,” Netanyahu said ahead of his departure. “In light of what is currently happening in Syria, it is necessary to ensure the continued coordination” between the two militaries. Netanyahu made no mention of the overnight strikes.

The Israeli and Russian militaries have been in contact throughout much of Russia’s intervention in Syria, where Moscow has waged an air campaign in support of Assad’s forces since 2015. Russia also considers Iran a strategic ally.

Israel views Iran as its archenemy, citing Iran’s calls for Israel’s destruction, support for militant groups across the region and growing military activity in neighboring Syria. Israel has warned that it will not allow Iran to establish a permanent military presence in Syria.

Israel’s military went on high alert Tuesday and bomb shelters were ordered open in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights following reports of “irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria.” After an uneventful night, the military on Wednesday called on residents to return to “full civilian routine,” meaning studies and excursions would continue as usual, although the shelters would remain open.

Israel, which almost never confirms or denies airstrikes in Syria, did not comment on Tuesday’s attack. Such strikes have become more frequent recently. The Syrian Observatory said the casualty number from Tuesday’s strike is likely to go up because of a large number of people who were wounded and a number of people who are missing.

Iran has vowed to retaliate to recent Israeli strikes in Syria targeting Iranian outposts, including an attack last month on Syria’s T4 air base in Homs province that killed seven Iranian military personnel. On April 30, Israel was said to have struck government outposts in northern Syria, killing more than a dozen pro-government fighters, many of them Iranians.

Amos Gilead, a retired senior Israeli defense official, told a security conference in the coastal town of Herzliya that Iran’s intentions in Syria meant a wider conflagration may only be a matter of time.

“They want to build a second Hezbollah-stan,” he said, referring to the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group that last fought a war with Israel in 2006. “They are determined to do it and we are determined to prevent it. It means we are on a collision course.”

Associated Press writer Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report.</s>Just off a 10-hour visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and less than a day after Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he doesn't expect Russia to act against Israeli forces as they continue exchanging fire with Syria.

It appears the meeting wrapped up at the very moments a major escalation began along the Golan Heights, with both Syria and Israel trading blame for an initial attack which quickly escalated into Israeli cruise missile launches and shelling on targets in southern Syria and notably, on Damascus itself.

The question remains, did Putin give Netanyahu the green light for tonight's events?

If it wasn't clear over the past weeks and months of unprovoked Israeli strikes on Syria—ostensibly to roll back Iranian troop presence—then it should be very clear by now that Syria, Israel, and Iran are now in a state of war and all signs point to a continued intensification of the conflict.

And crucially, there's currently no sign that Russia came to the aid of its close ally as rockets rained down on Damascus overnight. Russia has routinely looked the other way while Israel has conducted, by its own admission, over one hundred major strikes on Syria—most of which have come after Russian intervention on behalf of Assad in 2015.

As Reuters reported late in the day Wednesday, Netanyahu told reporters just before departing Moscow: “Given what is happening in Syria at this very moment, there is a need to ensure the continuation of military coordination between the Russian military and the Israel Defence Forces.” The Russians and Israelis coordinate their actions through a direct military hotline intended to avoid accidental clashes which could lead to escalation between the two countries.

A reportedly "upbeat" Netanyahu further said, “"In previous meetings, given statements that were putatively attributed to - or were made by - the Russian side, it was meant to have limited our freedom of action or harm other interests and that didn’t happen, and I have no basis to think that this time will be different."

Thus it appears Israel may have been given a green light by Putin to engage targets in Syria, however, at this point it is unclear what limitations or restrictions Putin may have issued, if any at all.

Furthermore, the context and timing of the Putin-Netanyahu meeting suggests an increasingly cozy and warming relationship even as the crisis intensifies in Syria. According to Reuters:

During his 10-hour Moscow visit, the Israeli leader attended, alongside Putin, annual Red Square celebrations of the anniversary of the end of World War Two. Israel recognizes the Russian date, May 9. Most Western powers mark it on May 8. “When the president of Russia invites the prime minister of the state of the Jews to stand alongside him at the parade symbolizing the Red Army’s victory over the Nazis, its liberation, also, of the (concentration) camps, of Jews and others – for Russia, that is very significant,” Israeli Intelligence Minister Israel Katz told the Ynet news site.

Reuters also noted that Israel has not joined Western sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine and allegations that its intelligence services poisoned a Russian ex-spy in Britain.

Meanwhile things are escalating in Syria by the hour and by the day.

Early unconfirmed reports suggest Syrian defense systems may have intercepted multiple Israeli rockets, while the pro-opposition media site SOHR says an air strike near Damascus killed at least 15 people, including eight Iranians. Reports have cited Syrian military sources which claim "dozens" of Israeli rockets downed by Syrian air defenses during the sustained attack.

As we've reported, Israel is claiming to be acting against Iranian aggression, while Syria state media reports cite government officials as saying no Iranians have engaged Israel and are not in the areas of Israeli attacks.

Pro-government Al-Mayadeen reported that as of 3am (Damascus time) over 50 Rockets had been launched at Israel by Syrian forces, and journalists on the ground said Israeli aircraft engaged targets near Damascus while flying over the border area.

And into the early morning hours massive explosions were still being reported around Damascus.</s>This photograph provided by the Israeli Ministry of Defense on Monday Dec. 21, 2015 shows a launch of the David's Sling missile defense system. Ministry of Defense via AP

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Moscow's Victory Day parade on Wednesday — and just hours later a massive air war broke out that saw Israel destroy dozens of Iranian sites in Syria.

Statements from Netanyahu suggest that Putin may have given the green light before the attack took place.

Netanyahu left Russia saying that "there is a need to ensure the continuation of military coordination between the Russian military and the Israel Defence Forces." That same night the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly coordinated massive series of strikes on Iranian targets across Syria, Russia's ally.

Israel admits to having struck targets in Syria more than 100 times since 2012, and maintains it will continue to strike wherever it sees Iranian forces and assets which pose a threat to its security.

Russia has typically turned a blind eye to the Israeli incursions, but the fighting escalated massively on Wednesday night.

The IDF told Israel's Channel 10 News that more than 50 targets were hit in the strike, making it the largest attack carried out by Israeli in Syria since the two signed an agreement following the end of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

Around 1 a.m. local time, Israel said that 20 Iranian Grad and Fajr rockets came streaking in towards northern Israel. The rockets, it said, were either intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system or fell short of their targets.

The Iranian barrage was expected. Israel had opened bomb shelters and warned its citizens of an impending attack after several suspected Israeli airstrikes had killed Iranians in Syria and laid waste to hundreds of rockets.

After the rocket salvo, 28 Israeli jets and missiles took to the skies and pounded Syria. They fired 60 rockets and 10 surface-to-surface missiles, according to Michael Horowitz, a security analyst at security consultancy LeBeck International.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, June 7, 2016. Pool/Maxim Shipenkov via Associated Press

Putin stepped into the Syrian civil war in 2015 as a guarantor of Syrian President Bashar Assad's security. He has stood by Assad even as the Syrian leader is accused of conducting chemical warfare and other barbaric acts on his own people.

Both times the US struck Syria as punishment for chemical warfare, the prospect loomed that Russia could defend the Syrian targets, or retaliate on their behalf.

But the same does not appear true when Israel strikes Syria.

In February, when Israel downed an Iranian drone it said was armed and flying in Israeli airspace, IDF jets reportedly knocked out half of Syria's air defenses in a massive air war in which Iran lost, in which Israel lost an F-16 to Syrian missiles.

"The response to the downing of the Israeli jet was intended to be a lot more violent," investigative journalist, Ronen Bergman, wrote in an op-ed article in The New York Times at the time.

A "furious phone call" from Putin "was enough to make Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel cancel the plans," Bergman wrote. Netanyahu, likely out for blood after losing a jet to Syrian forces, then offered a more muted response after talking to Assad's ally, Putin.

In mid-April, when Israel was again seen as attacking massing Iranian forces in Syria, Putin called Netanyahu to warn him against striking targets in Syria.

In May, an Israeli security cabinet minister said that Israel could kill Assad if he interfered in Israel's campaign to stop Iran building up forces on its border.

Syrian air defenses reportedly tried to stop the Israeli missiles in Wednesday night's battle, but Israel has yet to move against Assad.

Russia has staked its credibility in the Middle East on ensuring Assad's survival against Western forces, which have openly mulled deposing the Syrian leader.

But when it comes to Israel striking Iranians in Syria "I don't think [the Russians] actually care too much," Ephraim Sneh, a former Israeli deputy defense minister told Business Insider.

Russia operates advanced air defenses and an air force in Syria which have the ability to engage Israeli targets, but by all accounts Moscow's forces stood down when Israeli missiles started hitting Iranians.</s>MOSCOW: A Russian deputy foreign minister called for “restraint on all sides” on Thursday following Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria and said Moscow was “concerned” at the escalation.

“We have established contacts with all parties and we call for restraint from all parties,” deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov said, adding that Moscow was “concerned” at the development.

Israel’s army said Thursday it had hit dozens of Iranian military targets around Syria in one of its largest military operations in recent years and its biggest such assault against Iranian targets.

The strikes came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country has provided massive military and diplomatic backing to the Assad regime in Syria.

Putin has expressed “deep concern” over US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, a decision Netanyahu supported. On Wednesday the Russian leader called the situation in the Middle East “unfortunately very acute.”

Netanyahu had told Putin that “it is the right of every state, certainly the right of Israel, to take the necessary steps in order to protect itself from (Iranian) aggression)”, his office said in a statement Wednesday, referring to Iran’s presence in Syria.

Israel carried out the raids after it said around 20 rockets were fired from Syria at its forces in the occupied Golan Heights at around midnight.

It blamed the rocket fire on Iran’s Al-Quds force, adding that Israel’s anti-missile system intercepted four of the projectiles while the rest did not land in its territory.

The incident came after weeks of rising tensions and followed US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from a key 2015 Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday, a move Israel had long advocated. AFP</s>JERUSALEM >> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with President Vladimir Putin and discuss military coordination amid new strikes in Syria blamed on Israel.

Together with Putin, Netanyahu toured a parade celebrating the anniversary of the World War II victory over the Nazis and then met the Russian president at the Kremlin for consultations. Netanyahu he said he was eager to discuss ways of “solving crises and removing threats in a thoughtful and responsible manner.”

After 10 hours together, Netanyahu said he conveyed Israel’s obligation to defend itself against Iranian aggression.

“I think that matters were presented in a direct and forthright manner, and this is important. These matters are very important to Israel’s security at all times and especially at this time,” he said.

Syrian state media said Israel struck a military outpost on Tuesday near the capital of Damascus. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missiles targeted depots and rocket launchers that likely belonged to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard in Kisweh, killing at least 15 people, eight of them Iranians.

Tensions between Israel and Iran are high over Iran’s efforts to expand its military presence in Syria, where it is a key ally of President Bashar Assad. Repeated airstrikes attributed to Israel have killed Iranian fighters and prompted threats of reprisal from Tehran. President Donald Trump’s announcement Tuesday that the U.S. would withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran has triggered uncertainty and threatened to spark more unrest in the Middle East.

“The meetings between us are always important and this one is especially so,” Netanyahu said ahead of his departure. “In light of what is currently happening in Syria, it is necessary to ensure the continued coordination” between the two militaries. Netanyahu made no mention of the overnight strikes.

The Israeli and Russian militaries have been in contact throughout much of Russia’s intervention in Syria, where Moscow has waged an air campaign in support of Assad’s forces since 2015. Russia also considers Iran a strategic ally.

Israel views Iran as its archenemy, citing Iran’s calls for Israel’s destruction, support for militant groups across the region and growing military activity in neighboring Syria. Israel has warned that it will not allow Iran to establish a permanent military presence in Syria.

Israel’s military went on high alert Tuesday and bomb shelters were ordered open in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights following reports of “irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria.” After an uneventful night, the military on Wednesday called on residents to return to “full civilian routine,” meaning studies and excursions would continue as usual, although the shelters would remain open.

Israel, which almost never confirms or denies airstrikes in Syria, did not comment on Tuesday’s attack. Such strikes have become more frequent recently. The Syrian Observatory said the casualty number from Tuesday’s strike is likely to go up because of a large number of people who were wounded and a number of people who are missing.

Iran has vowed to retaliate to recent Israeli strikes in Syria targeting Iranian outposts, including an attack last month on Syria’s T4 air base in Homs province that killed seven Iranian military personnel. On April 30, Israel was said to have struck government outposts in northern Syria, killing more than a dozen pro-government fighters, many of them Iranians.

Amos Gilead, a retired senior Israeli defense official, told a security conference in the coastal town of Herzliya that Iran’s intentions in Syria meant a wider conflagration may only be a matter of time.

“They want to build a second Hezbollah-stan,” he said, referring to the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group that last fought a war with Israel in 2006. “They are determined to do it and we are determined to prevent it. It means we are on a collision course.”

Associated Press writer Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report.</s>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to Israel Wednesday night at 11:00 p.m. after a day in Moscow and meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 

 Four hours earlier, in a conference call with Israeli reporters, he said there was “no basis to think” that the Russians would curb Israel’s maneuverability in Syria. He obviously knew of what he spoke.



Because 75 minutes after his return to Israel, the Iranians launched 20 missiles toward IDF positions on the Golan Heights. Israel had anticipated the attack, an Iranian effort to avenge earlier Israeli attacks on their positions in Syria. It was met with a pulverizing response by the IAF, destroying much of the Iranian military infrastructure in Syria, according to Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman.





Tellingly, the Russians did nothing on the ground; their Mideast envoy, Mikhail Bogdanov, issued a neutral statement saying that the developments were “alarming,” that there was a need to de-escalate tensions, and that the situation distracts from the fight inside Syria against Islamic State.The working assumption in Jerusalem for weeks, since Iranian fighters were killed in two recent attacks in Syria attributed to Israel, was that Tehran would respond. The clear message coming from Jerusalem was that Israel would not let such a response go unanswered, and it would deliver a pulverizing counterpunch.It is highly likely that the nature of that counterpunch – perhaps not the exact targets to be attacked, but the breadth and magnitude of the operation – was discussed with the Russians to avoid, as Israel is meticulously trying to do, accidentally engaging the Russians and surprising Moscow.Nobody wants Israel to surprise them: not US President Donald Trump, and not Putin – and it is very much in Israel’s interests to have a good, open channel of communications with both men.Netanyahu speaks often about the close coordination that exists between the Israeli and Russian militaries and the good relationship he has developed with Putin – a relationship very much on display when the Russian president invited him to Moscow on Wednesday to watch the military parade marking the victory over Germany 73 years ago.And one of the reasons that relationship remains as good as it has is because there are few surprises. The Russians by now know very well what will trigger an Israeli response and what form that response is likely to take.So far the Russians have stayed out of the way and enabled Israel to act as it sees fit – and that is neither a given or something to be taken lightly.Netanyahu’s critics say if the premier’s relationship is so good with the Russian leader, and if the coordination is so close, then why doesn’t Putin put an end to Iran’s attempts to entrench itself in Syria?Russian diplomats, when asked this question, say Iran is a sovereign state over which Russia does not have control. Just as Moscow cannot tell Israel not to operate in Syria, they say, it cannot tell Iran not to operate there either.But what Moscow does obviously tell both sides is not to harm Russian interests or assets. The primary Russian asset in Syria is President Bashar Assad, in whose regime Moscow has invested millions of rubles and for whom Russian soldiers have been killed.Other assets include the Russian naval base at Tartus and the air base at Latakia.Russia enjoys good relations with Iran, just as it enjoys good relations with Israel. Putin meets periodically with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, just as he meets with Netanyahu, though perhaps not as much. But they do meet, and they do talk. For instance, the two men last met in April and before that last November.One can assume that just as Netanyahu from time to time entreats Putin to curb Iranian actions in Syria, Rouhani appeals to Putin to stop Israeli actions there also. Putin listens to both and does nothing against either side: He doesn’t curb Israel, and he doesn’t restrict Iran.As long as Russia’s interests are not harmed, from Putin’s point of view, this particular fight is not Russia’s.</s>Since intervening in the Syrian civil war on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad in 2015, Russia has generally turned a blind eye to Israeli attacks on suspected arms transfers and deployments by Assad's Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah allies. But Moscow’s condemnation of an April 9 strike that killed seven Iranian personnel set off speculation in Israel that Russian patience might be wearing thin.

Israel forewarned Russia of its strikes on Thursday against multiple targets in Syria, an Israeli military spokesman said.

"The Russians were informed prior to our attack by the established mechanisms that we have," Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus told reporters without elaborating.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Moscow to meet Putin, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump quit the Iranian nuclear deal and after Syria accused Israel of carrying out a fresh missile strike on an army base near Damascus.

"Given what is happening in Syria at this very moment, there is a need to ensure the continuation of military coordination between the Russian military and the Israel Defence Forces," Netanyahu told reporters before departing, referring to a hotline designed to prevent the countries clashing accidentally.

After the talks with Putin, Netanyahu sounded upbeat.

"In previous meetings, given statements that were putatively attributed to — or were made by — the Russian side, it was meant to have limited our freedom of action or harm other interests and that didn't happen, and I have no basis to think that this time will be different," he told reporters in a phone briefing.

There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.</s>Former US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, met Russian President Vladimir Putin in 1991. “At the time, if you had asked me to list 5,000 Russians that might be the next president of Russia, he would not have made this list.”



Now the man that Americans had disregarded is the key to restraining Iran in Syria and ensuring the clashes overnight on Wednesday do not get worse. Israeli forces struck thirty targets in Syria after Iran and its allies in Syria fired 20 missiles towards the Golan. Now Moscow's role is increasingly central to what happens next. Why? Because Russia has invested heavily in the survival of its Syrian regime ally and hopes for stability in Syria. 





With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow for Victory Day celebrations, Russia now plays a key role after Washington withdrew from the Iran Deal.Netanyahu planned his Moscow trip as Trump was deciding about leaving the deal and it was not definitely clear that Trump’s speech would come a night before the trip.However, the Iran issue has always hung over Israel-Russia relations in the last years. Russia has successfully pursued several tracks in Syria in this regard.Putin has warm relations with Netanyahu and Moscow considers Israel’s air raids in Syria part of its differences with Jerusalem. Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Basher Assad, increased its role in Syria in 2015.Criticism of Israel’s air raids by Moscow, which was very rare between 2015 and 2017, has increased.Russia also pursues a second track in Syria at the Astana peace talks alongside Iran and Turkey discussing how to “de-escalate” the Syria conflict. Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in April of this year and in November 2017 to discuss Syria. Putin also concluded a cease-fire agreement in southern Syria in July 2017 with the US and Jordan.Unlike Trump, who has no relations with Iran and difficult relations with Turkey, Putin is now the key to Syria. Moscow’s main interest is what it calls “stability” in Syria. That means basically not entering into new conflicts with the US and its partners in eastern Syria, Jordan and the Syrian rebels in the South or Turkey and the rebels in the north. It also means not having Iran and Israel fight a war in Syria.A conflict between Israel and Iran in Syria is the most likely outcome of any tensions between Jerusalem and Tehran. These tensions existed before Trump left the deal and will continue after.Over the next 180 days, Iran will watch as Washington decides which sanctions to re-impose. Already the Iranian economy is struggling and the Iranian rial has reached record lows. Iran would view with caution any real war with Israel. But Iran has warned of retaliation for Israeli air strikes in Syria.Here, Moscow can play a constructive role because it speaks to both Jerusalem and Tehran. We don’t know the substance of what Netanyahu and Putin have said regarding this, but it’s clear that Jerusalem knows Russia is a key to calm in the north. Russia is also a key because of its air defenses in Syria. In contrast to the Trump administration’s goals in Syria, which have tacked from staying or going, Russia’s are clear.What is less clear, is which way Russia is trending on Iran’s role in Syria. Russian English language media, Russia Today and Sputnik, highlight the tensions in Syria and give credence to reports by Syrian state media that Israel has launched air strikes on Syria on May 8.In addition, Russia Today has a piece with a commentator saying that the Israel “lobby is calling the shots in Trump’s rollback policy on Iran.” This may not be indicative of Moscow’s overall thinking, but it certainly is an element of it.
Russian authorities say that they foiled a plot by Siberian terrorists to attack a Victory Day march attended by President Vladimir Putin and visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Twenty suspects are detained.