Israeli media comments on Raisi's visit to Syria

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Agency
3 May 2023 22:17

An Israeli political commentator assessed that Iran would be emboldened in this new era "after Arab support, the war in Ukraine, and the division in Israeli society."

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad meets Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi May 3, 2023 (Reuters)

Israeli media reported that the visit of the Iranian president to Syria comes at an auspicious time in regard to regional development. It embodies a clear message to the enemy "We have won, and our strategic alliance cannot be broken."

Roi Kays, an Israeli political commentator on Arab affairs in an interview with Kan, described the visit as "historic" such that it comes at "an important point in time from a regional point of view" marking the first time an Iranian president visits Syria in around a decade.

"Israel sees all the changes in the region, and this visit comes at an important time, when Syria is converging with the Arab countries, and Iran is also converging with the Gulf countries," Kays noted.

Citing Al Mayadeen's exclusive interview yesterday with President Raisi, Kays inferred that Iran has been taking key decisions to strengthen the resistance coalition, and this visit is within this framework. He added that Raisi intended message from this visit is that "our strategic alliance cannot be broken."

1/5 #AlMayadeen Exclusive | #Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reveals some details regarding the events that led to the rapprochement between #Tehran and #Riyadh. pic.twitter.com/eFP5oORY3g
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 2, 2023

On their part, Channel 13 remarked that Raisi's visit to Damascus signals a new "Iranian era" in the middle east.

Hezi Simantov, the channel's Arab affairs commentator, assessed that Iran would be emboldened in this new era "after Arab support, the war in Ukraine, and the division in Israeli society."

Simantov explained that now that Iran no longer has to worry about "Arabs creating problems for them", the West's preoccupation with the war in Ukraine, and the stark divisions in Israeli society make this new era a dangerous one.

Simantov predicted that Raisi would possibly visit the border area with "Israel" after reports from official sources revealed that he would be making field trips during his visit.

Citing Al Mayadeen's interview, Simantov said that Raisi's threats are firm when he said "If Israel attacks us, we will destroy it."

The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, has led a delegation and arrived in Damascus today, Wednesday, in response to an official invitation from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This is the first visit by an Iranian president to Syria in 12 years.

Before leaving for Damascus, Raisi articulated that it has become clear to everyone that the Syrian government must have the right to sovereignty and territorial integrity over all Syrian territories. He expressed his hopes that this visit would aid in the development and expansion of Iranian-Syrian relations and that it would be a useful and influential visit for relations between the two countries.

Raisi stressed that "the groups created by the Americans, such as ISIS and others, shed blood and created chaos in the region and committed many crimes."