World War 3 fears were sparked this week after Israel hit the Syrian capital of Damascus early on Monday as part of its increasingly open assault on Iran’s presence there. In response, Iran issued a chilling message to arch-enemy Israel – warning it is “impatient” and ready to confront and destroy the nation in a statement issued just hours after Israel launched the air raids in Syria.
The former Pentagon official Michael Maloof has warned the situation between the two states is getting “quickly out of hand” due to the “intensified Israeli attacks”.
Mr Maloof told RT America: “You have got to keep in mind that the alleged Iranian attack was in response to a prior Israeli attack on Syria.
“So, basically, the Israelis started the whole thing by firing rockets at their sites at the side of Syria.
“So what this indicates is a very rapid escalation that’s occurring and Netanyahu himself basically stated that he is only going to intensify and I think this is also a prelude to something even more serious in terms of probably creating even greater uncertainty and conflict within the region itself.
“And it can happen very rapidly.”
The war expert added: “If the Israelis begin to bring in aircraft and start attacking targets directly I think this, particularly with the Russian presence there, it’s going to really escalate into something much greater and it is already becoming that.”
Speaking after at least four Syrian soldiers were killed in the raids carried out by Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netahyahu hit back at Iran’s stern warning and said he will hit back against “anyone who tries to harm us”.
The operation targeted the elite Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, according to Israel Defense Forces.
The head of Iran’s air force said on Monday the country was ready to fight Israel and destroy it.
Speaking to the Young Journalist Club, a website supervised by state television, Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh said: ”The young people in the air force are fully ready and impatient to confront the Zionist regime and eliminate it from the Earth.”
The raid shook the night sky over Damascus with an hour of loud explosions in a second consecutive night of military action.
Israel, which regards Iran as its biggest threat, has repeatedly attacked Iranian targets and those of allied militia, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, in Syria, aiming to push them far from its frontier.