TEHRAN- Hamzeh Qalandari, Iran’s deputy defense minister for international affairs, has reiterated Tehran’s dedication to the safety of friendly nations, stating that Tehran sees it as its “obligation” to support the development of Syria’s air defense capabilities in order to fend off Israeli strikes on the country.

Qalandari made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony marking International Mine Awareness Day and Assistance in Mine Action in Tehran on Tuesday.

Referring to the export of military equipment, he stated, “We find ourselves dedicated to help friendly nations, like Syria, enhance their air defenses and ward off aerial attacks.”

The deputy defense minister said that while Syria had previously been “defenseless” against Israeli aerial attacks, Damascus is now successfully fending off a significant number of the Israeli regime’s airstrikes.

Additionally, General Qalandari said that Iran had helped several of its neighbors and allies “not just in terms of equipment and arms, but also in the field of technology of producing military equipment.”

“Once the UN arms embargo against Iran is lifted in 2020, we are observing numerous nations that desire to utilize Iranian weaponry,” he added, highlighting the rising interest in the procurement of Iranian military and defense equipment.

Over the last decades, Iran has been a pioneer in procuring domestically-produced air defense systems, leading the country to become self-sufficient in the field of air defense.

Iran’s Defense Ministry has recently unveiled a new air defense missile powered by solid propellants. 

The missile, called “Sayyad 4B”, is paired with Bavar-373 air defense system. It has a range of 300 kilometers.

In a recent test, the Bavar-373 air defense system successfully hit a target at a distance of over 300 km with the new missile.

The Israeli regime regularly infringes upon Syrian sovereignty by attacking military installations in the country, particularly those of the Hezbollah resistance movement, which has been crucial in aiding the Syrian army in its struggle against foreign-backed terrorists.

An anonymous military source told Syria’s official news agency SANA that the Israeli regime has launched another missile attack against Syria, this time aiming for locations near the capital city of Damascus.

In addition to Damascus, other locations in the southern part of Syria were also targeted by a fresh missile, which was launched early on Tuesday from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights.

According to the military source, the Syrian air defenses intercepted Israeli missiles, shooting down the majority of them. 

Nonetheless, the incident killed two civilians and inflicted some material damage.

Israel has been cautioned against the repercussions of these strikes by Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, which maintains that such hostile acts would heighten regional insecurity and instability.

Recent Israeli airstrikes on Syria have killed several civilians as well as two Iranian military advisers, wrecked residential areas and government buildings, and temporarily shut down the two biggest airports in the country. They have also stoked concerns of a regional escalation.

Iran has shown over and over that any hostile measures against its soil and interests will not go unpunished. Furthermore, Israel has invariably received devastating answers but many of them are failed to feature in the media spotlight both nationally and internationally.   

Attacks have been ratchetted up since Iran and Saudi Arabia reconciled last month. 

Also, it occurs in the midst of a serious political upheaval in the occupied Palestinian territory triggered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to overhaul the judiciary in his favor as he faces corruption charges.

Israel generally stays quiet about its incursions into Syrian territory, which many believe to be a kind of reaction in response to the Syrian government’s growing effectiveness in battling terrorists.

Since foreign-backed militancy erupted in Syria in early 2011, the Tel Aviv regime has been a major sponsor of terrorist organizations that have opposed President Bashar al-Assad’s government. 

Syria has complained about Israeli attacks to the UN on several occasions, pleading for the Security Council to intervene to stop Tel Aviv’s atrocities. Yet, the calls have been ignored.

In July 2020, Iran and Syria agreed to expand their partnership in the military and defense industries.

In February, Iranian and Syrian military officials reached an agreement to supply missile systems to Damascus to strengthen the Arab nation’s air defenses in the face of an uptick in Israeli airstrikes.

With the start of the foreign-backed unrest in the Arab nation, Iran was the first state to come to Syria’s aid.

In 2017, the Islamic Republic’s military advisory assistance enabled the Arab country to decisively defeat the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.