Iranian officials are believed to be encouraging the Syrian army, Palestinians, and its terror proxy Hezbollah to launch an attack on the Golan Heights, Israeli territory that borders war-torn Syria.
Iran responded to cables from the United States and Russia over the weekend by saying that Syrian forces aligned with President Bashar al-Assad have been instructed to immediately retaliate against Israel, according to Israeli news site Ynet, which translated a report first published in a Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese newspaper.
The instructions followed Israeli strikes on Syrian weapons facilities that contained Iranian-made weapons waiting to be shipped to Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
"Iranian officials have warned that their reaction to preceived [sic] aggressions would likely would be expressed in one of two ways," Ynet reported. "The first, one of the sources said, would be ‘a blow below the belt in more than one location’" both within and outside of Syria, as they approached ‘the Day of Judgment.’
Iran has issued "a final decision" to turn "the Golan Heights in the ‘Fatahland,’" the source told Ynet. Syrians, Palestinians, and "all who want to fight Israel" would be encouraged to storm the northern front.
Iran is also planning a conference on the Syrian crisis in Tehran, according to Ynet.
"Preparations are currently underway for a far-reaching Syria conference, to be held in Tehran, in which the Syrian regime will be represented by Syrian Minister for National Reconcilation [sic] Ali Haider and by the Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil," according to the report.
Meanwhile, a top Iranian envoy blamed the United States and Israel for spurring the civil war in Syria on Wednesday.
"The U.S. and the Zionist regime are the main plotters of the Syrian crisis and the recent attack of the Zionist regime's warplanes on the country is the best evidence for this claim and proves that the Takfiri groups, which have come to Syria from abroad, are fully coordinated with the (Zionist) regime," Iranian Ambassador to Beirut Qazanfar Roknabadi was quoted as saying by Iran’s Fars News Agency.
Roknabadi’s comments were made during a meeting of "international human rights activists" held at the Iranian embassy in Beirut, according to Fars.
Roknabadi went on to warn the United States against intervening in Syria.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran opposes any foreign interference in Syria and has called on all foreign sides to stop weapons and financial aids to armed groups and remain committed to their international responsibility for settling the Syrian crisis," Roknabadi said.
A top Syrian army strategist also speculated that pro-Assad forces would retaliate against Israel.
"This move will not remain unanswered," Syrian military analyst Turki Hassan said on Wednesday.
"In Israel … there is no place out of the range of the Syrian army and no Patriot or Iron Dome missiles (shield) can stand up to Syria's reprisal," Hassan said, explaining that forces are waiting on attack orders from Assad.