Syria's al-Assad Affirms Able to Confront Israel

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in a televised speech said, the country is able to confront Israel. The statement is the first public response to President Al-Assad after Israeli airstrikes against targets near the capital Damascus last weekend.

"The people of Syria and military personnel, who achieved major success in the fight against terrorism and jihadist groups, able to face the adventure of Israel, who faces terrorism by targeting Syria every day," said President al-Assad as broadcast on state television.

"Israeli aggression which recently revealed the involvement of the Israeli occupation forces and the Western countries as well as in areas that support aggression through incidents taking place in Syria."

However, he did not mention Syria revenge over the Israeli attack.

Earlier he met with Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, who insists Iran will support Syria in facing the Israeli attempts to compromise the security of the region.

International conference

Israeli officials said an air strike on Friday (05/03/2013) and Sunday (05/05/2013) aimed at Iranian arms across Syria to reach the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Damascus government, through its official protest to the United Nations, said the attack caused the fall of the number of casualties and widespread physical damage.

In a separate development, Russia and the United States agreed to hold an international conference in order to prevent a political settlement of the conflict in Syria.

The deal was made by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, with partners from the United States, John Kerry, following a meeting in Moscow, Tuesday (05/07/2013).

The international conference is a follow-up of the Action Group meeting held in Geneva in June 2012. "We believe the Geneva Communiqué is an important pathway to end the bloodshed in Syria," said Kerry told reporters.

"The other option is going to be a lot of violence. Syria leads other option is getting closer to extinction, if it were not in the extinction or chaos."

The United Nations estimates, since the Syrian conflict to bloom about two years ago, has fallen victim to some 70,000 people and more than one million people fled from Syria.