Special to WorldTribune.com

JERUSALEM — Israel has assessed that Iran was testing
non-conventional weapons in Syria.

The Israeli intelligence community has determined that Iran was testing
a range of chemical weapons in Syria amid the war against President Bashar
Assad. Officials said the tests included those of CW warheads on artillery
shells fired toward Sunni rebel strongholds in August.

“In fact, Assad’s regime has become a full Iranian client and Syria has become Iran’s testing ground,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “Now the whole world is watching. Iran is watching and it wants to see what would be the reaction on the use of chemical weapons.”

During a meeting with visiting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Aug. 25, Netanyahu was said to have voiced the intelligence assessment that the CW shells fired toward rebel strongholds around Damascus on Aug. 21 marked an attack by Assad’s military. The prime minister said Iran and Hizbullah, which have a CW arsenal, sought to test the international reaction to a major non-conventional weapons attack.

“What is happening in Syria, simply demonstrates what will happen if
Iran gets even deadlier weapons,” Netanyahu said.

The Israeli intelligence community assessed that Iran and Hizbullah
pressed for the CW attack. Officials said Assad was no longer in control
over much of his country as well as key military units.

“What we see in Syria is how extremist regimes have no reservations
whatsoever about using these weapons even when they use it against innocent
civilians, against their own people,” Netanyahu said.

Officials said the United States was expected to launch limited missile
strikes against Assad in wake of the CW attack, which killed between 360 and
1,300 people. They said Israel’s military was on alert to stop any campaign
by Iran, Hizbullah and Syria.

“From Israel’s point-of-view, the challenge will be to remain outside
the picture,” Israeli defense analyst Yoav Limor said. “The natural concern
is that with its back to the wall, Syria — or Hizbullah and Iran — would
be liable to direct their fire at us as well in order to complicate things
or unite the Arab world against us.”

  Bashar Assad, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli intelligence: Iran testing chemical weapons in Syria, Laurent Fabius