"Did Russian President Putin Stop Israel And ..." Topic

…Syria/Iran Sliding Into War?

"Prior to Saturday call, senior Israeli officials were still taking a militant line and it seemed Jerusalem was considering further military action.

Russian President Vladimir Putin put an end to the confrontation between Israel and Iran in Syria and both sides accepted his decision. That's the apparent conclusion to be reached from the chain of events this past weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, after the second wave of bombardments by the Israel Air Force against Syrian targets and Iranian installations in Syria, senior Israeli officials were still taking a militant line and it seemed as if Jerusalem was considering further military action. Discussion of that ended not long after a phone call between Putin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…"

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The question is…what was offered (or threatened) to make it stop.?

Amicalement
Armand

Most people may not realize it but Russia and Israel seem to have a nice working relationship.

I think it had less to do with Putin than that both sides aren't interested in a widening of the conflict in Syria.

Maybe…

Amicalement
Armand

Iran is going to try to escalate this then, if these two players aren't.

Dan

Looks like Putin yanked on Assad's leash (and, by reference, Iran's). Granted, calming things down is probably in all parties interest (one war at a time, thank you…).

Keep in mind that the IAF bombs Syria quite frequently using standoff missiles such as Popeye and Delilah from outside of Syrian airspace (often from above Lebanon). I haven't tallied them for this year but there were at least three other bombing raids in February before this incident that I know of.

What happened here was an ambush set up the Syrian Air Defence with the help of the Iranians. Note how the drone was launched and controlled from the T4 airbase. This lured the F-16 into their airspace to strike at the controller. As it was in their airspace for much longer than usual they were then able to lock on to it and launch a barrage of their upgraded SAMS against the strike package and its' support.

However this is mere speculation on my part.

Here is what we know so far:

- One Iranian-made Saegheh UAV was shot down by an Israeli helicopter.
- One Israeli F-16I was shot down by Syrian air defenses. The type of SAM scoring the hit is not established.
- News of one of the Israeli pilots dying in hospital is not true. Both pilot are injured only, one of them seriously.
- The wildly circulated number of SAMs fired by Syrians (30) is an exaggerated number. (There are much fewer remains of SAMs over Israeli, Lebanese and Syrian territories).
- The types of SAMs used were S-125 Pechora (SA-3), S-200 Vega (SAQ-5), BUK-2ME and 2K12 Kvadrat (SA-6).
- There are unconfirmed reports that the short range Pantsir was also used against incoming missiles. It is not known if any hits against the PGMs were scored.
- Syrian claims of a number of air targets hit remain unconfirmed (apart from the F-16I).
- Rumors of an Israeli F-15 being hit and making an emergency landing can not be confirmed.
- Usage of Lebanese airspace by Israeli aircraft is now confirmed.
- Israeli claims that they hit 12 targets and inflicted heavy damage can not be confirmed.
- One van was targeted and hit by an Israeli PGM. There is no confirmation that it was the actual guidance/command point of the Saegheh UAV. It could be something else.
- Reports that a Syrian MiG-25 took off to participate in the confrontation can not be confirmed.