Iran Constructing Long-Range Rocket Manufacturing Factory In Syria: Israeli TV

Iran is building a factory in northwest Syria to manufacture long-range rockets, Israel media reported featuring a satellite image of a site that is under construction.  

The reports showed satellite images of a site under construction in northwest Syria near the Mediterranean coastal town of Baniyas that purportedly could be used to produce and store the weapons, various media reported Wednesday.

Iran is strengthening its foothold in its ally Syria as Islamic State fighters were being displaced, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week. Further, Israel is watching developments and would act against any threat, he added.

"Our policy is clear” he said. Israel ardently opposes the iran’s military buildup and its proxies, primarily Hezbollah, in Syria. “We will do whatever it takes to protect Israel's security," he said.

The Channel 2 television news report also compared with images of a rocket factory near Tehran to structures at the Syrian site and said that there is too much resemblances between both. 

Netanyahu has been critical of a 2015 deal that six world powers including the United States under then-president Barack Obama struck with Iran to curb its nuclear program in return for an end to multilateral sanctions.

Iran is Israel's avowed enemy, and Israel argues that the agreement fails to prevent Iranian weapons posing a threat to its very existence. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

The United States last month slapped new economic sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile program and said Tehran's "malign activities" in the Middle East had undercut any "positive contributions" from the 2015 accord curbing its nuclear program.

Israeli intelligence officials will discuss the situation in Syria and Lebanon with U.S. counterparts in Washington this week, US news reported.