Israeli Defense Minister: I Prefer ISIS to Iran on Our Borders

Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Tuesday that if he had to choose between the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) and Iran on the country’s borders, he would “choose ISIS” every time.

 

In comments made at the Institute for National Security Studies’ (INSS) conference in Tel Aviv, Yaalon said that if the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were to fall, he would prefer the militant group to control territory on Israel’s northern border rather than an Iranian proxy such as the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

 

He reasoned that Iran has superior capabilities to the radical Islamist group, who are being pegged back by the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria.

 

Read More: Israeli Defense Minister: I Prefer ISIS to Iran on Our Borders