Assad's fall is a significant achievement, weakening the Iranian axis and its ability to transfer weapons to Hezbollah. Now, Israel must take direct military action against Iran.

Following the fall of Assad, is this the right time to take military action against Iran?

Brigadier General (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser (NEWSRAEL CONTRIBUTOR), former head of the research division at the Military Intelligence Directorate and currently a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Foreign and Security Affairs, addressed the fall of Assad's regime, the drone threat from Yemen, and dealing with the Iranian threat in an interview with Dana Veron on Channel 14 earlier this week (Monday):

"This is a positive development for Israel, but now efforts must be directed to the front against the ayatollahs' regime."

The senior researcher claimed that this is a positive development for Israel in the regional arena, as "the fall of the Assad regime is a significant achievement, weakening the Iranian axis and its ability to transfer weapons to Hezbollah and support it directly. 

This harms the Iranians' ability to establish regional control through Syria and also affects their attempts to destabilize Jordan and Judea and Samaria." 

However, Brigadier General (res.) Kuperwasser emphasized that Israel must be careful about who replaces Assad. "It is true that the previous regime was hostile to Israel, but some of the elements replacing it now are also problematic," he explained, adding: "It is important to ensure that the opposition in Syria does not carry strategic weapons and does not pose a direct threat to Israel. There is also room to examine cooperation with moderate elements in the opposition, and perhaps even to assist them financially in order to establish themselves in the country."

The researcher concluded by referring to the Iranian nuclear threat, when in the current situation in the Middle East with the fall of Assad and the weakening of Hezbollah, Iran is under heavy pressure, which may lead it to break out towards nuclear weapons. 

"Following the fall of Assad, we must be prepared for military action in the event that we detect significant progress by Iran towards nuclear weapons," said Brigadier General (res.) Kuperwasser, "At the same time, it is important to exert additional pressure on them - economic and political - especially with the entry of President Trump into the White House, who has already openly stated that he expects to intensify the pressure on the regime."