Thornberry’s letter specifically claimed that there is “the risk of a drift by Israel and the US towards war with Iran”, while also calling for the suspension of arms sales to Israel and the cancelation of joint exercises between the Israeli air force and the UK’s RAF, planned for later this year.
UK Labour MP Joan Ryan has blamed Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry for allegedly distorting the truth about Israel and Iran in her letter to UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
— Emily Thornberry (@EmilyThornberry) January 24, 2019
Mohammad Ali Jafari, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in turn responded by saying that Iran would keep “its military advisors, revolutionary forces and its weapons” in the Arab Republic, despite the Israeli threats.
He also cautioned the Jewish state against “playing with the lion’s tail”, promising that otherwise Iranian missiles would “roar and fall on [its] head”.Israel has been carrying out airstrikes on Syrian territory over the past few years, claiming that they are targeting Iranian forces and warehouses which are allegedly located in the Arab country.
Tehran insists that its military presence in Syria is limited to sending military advisers there at the behest of Damascus to help combat terrorists.