JERUSALEM, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel operates against the establishment of Iranian forces in Syria and the transfer of weapons to Lebanon.
His remarks came three days after suspected Israeli airstrikes hit a military base in central Syria, where the Lebanon-based Iran-backed military of Hezbollah were located.
"We are working against the establishment of an Iranian military presence (in Syria) against us," Netanyahu said at the start of Israel's weekly cabinet meeting.
"To this end, we are also operating against the transfer of deadly weapons from Syria to Lebanon or their manufacture in Lebanon," he said.
According to Netanyahu, the weapons are for use against Israel and "it is our right - based on the right of self-defense - to prevent their manufacture or transfer."
The al-Marsad, a Syrian human rights group, said on Friday that Thursday's attack on a military airport in Dabaa in central Homs province was aimed at members of the Hezbollah and other militias supporting the Bashar al-Assad regime.
The Israeli military is accused of carrying out dozens of air attacks in recent years against Hezbollah, Iran and Syrian positions.
Israel and the United States charged Iran's presence in Syria as a threat to Israel and threatened to take actions to prevent it.
