Israel

Will Israeli Conflict Spread to Iran, Syria?

By John Jessup
CBNNews.com

CBNNews.com– As Israel continues to fight against terror on two fronts, many are wondering whether the war will widen to include other neighboring states in the Middle East.

Israel has made clear that its military campaign is targeted to halt Hamas and Hezbollah. But it has made no bones about the fact that the current conflict involves other key players.

"Israel and the international community face a common threat from an axis of terror and hate: Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria, and Iran," Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, said.

Israel holds Syria accountable for providing a safe haven for the leader of Hamas. It holds both Iran and Syria responsible for supporting Hezbollah which receives millions in funding, training, and most of its high-tech weapons from Iran.

Some of those weapons have been used in strikes against Israel in the past several days.

Iran has warned Israel of "unimaginable losses" if it attacks neighboring Syria, whose military strength has dwindled after the dissolution of the former Soviet Union. Today, Syria's active armed forces stand at 319,000.

Even so, Iran has made deadly threats against Israel and no one knows just how far the Iranians might go.

Iran's revolutionary forces are well-funded, but there's no accurate count on the number of soldiers, because the Islamic regime keeps most of its military efforts secret, developing its own weapons.

CBN News has learned that U.S. military intelligence confirmed that Iran had a submarine off the coast of Lebanon. Last year, Iran said it was building its own sub that could fire missiles and torpedoes at the same time. It's not known whether this is the same vessel.

Whatever threats may come, the unified Israel defense forces with 185, 000 active troops and about 1.2 million in reserve is considered one of the strongest in the Middle East.

Its forces are well-funded, over 9.4 billion in the budget last year, and are considered one of the best trained and high-tech in the world.

While there is concern that the war could expand, some analysts believe there's no real gain for other countries to enter a military fight with Israel because of its superior military strength.

Instead, many believe they will continue supporting terrorist groups to fight the war for them. But in a region known for the unexpected, no one can know for sure what will happen.

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