Israel could cease to exist after the Middle East conflict — senior Russian officer

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. The conflict in the Middle East could result in the disappearance of Israel, Lieutenant General Apty Alaudinov, deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department and commander of the Akhmat special forces unit, told TASS. "We must realize that the war in the Middle East will only escalate. I believe that is precisely Israel’s objective to ramp up the conflict as much as possible and drag both the US and the entire NATO bloc into it. They are good at this. Ultimately, they will overestimate their strength and cease to exist as a state," he said. The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon. However, on the night of July 8, the United States resumed large-scale strikes against Iran, accusing it of violating the agreements regarding the Strait of Hormuz. On August 2, US President Donald Trump stated that he had agreed to call off a planned massive strike on Iran in order to reach a deal with the Islamic Republic, adding that Tehran and Arab capitals had asked the US to refrain from attacking as the parties had agreed on the outlines of a future agreement.