Insecurity in Syria benefits Zionist regime: Senior Iranian diplomat

Iran believes insecurity in Syria serves the interests of the Israeli regime and allows extremists to threaten regional peace, according to a senior Iranian diplomat.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that insecurity and instability in Syria benefit the Zionist regime, provide opportunities for terrorist and extremist groups to exploit the circumstances, and pose a threat to regional peace and stability," said Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani, the Iranian foreign minister's special representative for Syrian affairs, in a post on X on Tuesday. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, has said 1,068 civilians have been killed since March 6 in Syria's western coastal region at the hands of militants aligned with Syria’s ruling HTS administration during clashes with armed opposition groups.

The overwhelming majority of those killed were members of the Alawite minority, the monitor said.

Iran has condemned the killings, saying there was no justification for attacks on minorities in Syria. 

Sheibani, a former ambassador to Syria, described the scale of violence and killings in the coastal provinces as "shocking," and called for those responsible for these crimes to be held accountable.

"Effective and serious action by the Syrian interim government to stop the violence and prosecute and punish the perpetrators and instigators of these actions is what the people of the region and global public opinion expect."

Entire families killed: UN

The UN human rights office said on Tuesday that entire families, including women and children, have been killed in the coastal region.

"In a number of extremely disturbing instances, entire families - including women, children and individuals hors de combat - were killed, with predominantly Alawite cities and villages targeted in particular," UN human rights office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said, using a French term for those incapable of fighting.

Kidnappings, killings, lawlessness grip Syria under HTS rule

A wave of kidnappings in Syria under the HTS rule reportedly causes residents to fear leaving their homes after dark.

"Many of the cases documented were of summary executions. They appear to have been carried out on a sectarian basis...," Al-Kheetan told reporters.

In some cases, men were shot dead in front of their families, he said, citing testimonies from survivors.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk welcomed an announcement by the HTS administration to create an accountability committee and called for those investigations to be prompt, thorough, independent, and impartial, the spokesperson added.

Israel struck Syrian air defenses

Meanwhile, Israel’s military said on Tuesday that its warplanes had struck southern Syria overnight, targeting air defense systems and other military sites in the latest attack on the neighboring country.

Syrian media had said Israel hit the southern province of Daraa, with the observatory reporting at least 17 strikes on positions of the former Syrian army, including an observation platform and tanks.

A statement from the Israeli military said its “fighter jets struck radars and detection assets used for constructing aerial intelligence assessments” as well as “command positions and military sites containing weapons and military equipment belonging to the Syrian regime.”

The Israeli military statement said the targets hit overnight “were struck in order to eliminate future threats.”

Since the overthrow of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel has carried out airstrikes in Syria and deployed troops to a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the strategic Golan Heights.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in February that southern Syria must be completely demilitarized, warning that his cabinet would not accept the presence of the forces of the new HTS administration near its territory.

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