Larijani: Israel Mastermind of Syria War

A top legislator said the Israeli prime minister "clearly" showed in his recent remarks against Iranian counter-terror assistance to Syria that Tel Aviv is behind the ongoing war in the Arab country.

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani made the statement on Sunday, concerning a Friday conversation between Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Netanyahu expressed Israel's strong opposition to the presence of Iranian forces north of Israel "in the context of the talks on a [Syrian] settlement of any kind".

Iran has been lending military advisory support to the Syrian military in its battle against foreign-backed militancy, while avoiding any direct military involvement in the Arab country.

Larijani told a parliamentary session in Tehran that Netanyahu laid down conditions for peace in Syria, Press TV reported.  

"He clearly stated that the Zionist regime is behind the war in Syria. If some regional leaders doubted that the war in Syria is not in line with the interests of Muslims, at least Sunni Muslims, they would have been disillusioned by the remarks of the head of Zionist regime," he said.

"The main reason behind the regional adventures is to defeat resistance and its supporters to pave the way for the Zionist regime's complete dominance here."

Netanyahu also told Putin "the Golan Heights [should not be] part of the discussion on any outline" of the Syria peace agreement.

Israel has been occupying Golan since 1967. Since the start of the foreign-backed militancy in Syria, it has been treating injured militants arriving in the territory, claiming it would do so for all those in the areas "under its control".

Tel Aviv wants Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ousted. It has been carrying out air raids against Syria-based targets from the Lebanese airspace on many occasions.

Late last month, Israel's Channel 2 said the regime had sent its troops on repeated spying missions to a village located half a kilometer inside Syria's territory. The Israeli military has also installed intelligence-gathering equipment in the Golan Heights to record movements by the Syrian military and foreign-backed militants.

Meeting with Putin, the Israeli premier also claimed ancient Persia had made a failed attempt to "destroy the Jewish people”" some 2,500 years ago, a legend commemorated through the Jewish holiday of Purim, which Israel started celebrating Saturday night.

While scholars do not agree on the accuracy of the Purim story, Netanyahu has constantly referred to the legend as a basis of his anti-Iran arguments in his meetings with world leaders. Larijani said through such comments, Netanyahu misreported Iran's pre-Islamic era history and distorted facts.

"Apparently, he is neither acquainted with history, nor has read the Torah," he said. According to Jewish accounts, Persian King Ahasverous discovered his viceroy's conspiracy to slaughter Jews some 2,500 years ago and had him executed.

Nevertheless, Netanyahu has been selective in his recount of history, ignoring the Hebrew Bible that has repeatedly praised Persian King Cyrus the Great as the patron and deliverer of the Jews, who put an end to their Babylonian captivity.