British MP: Iran is trying to threaten Israel by establishing a second front in Syria

Labor MP Joan Ryan used the stage she was provided with at a parliamentary debate on Iranian influence in the Middle East to warn of Iran's mounting threats against the Jewish state.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Iranian protestors burn an Israeli flag during a demonstration in Tehran on July 25, 2014 to mark the Quds Day (photo credit: BEHROUZ MEHRI /AFP)
Iranian protestors burn an Israeli flag during a demonstration in Tehran on July 25, 2014 to mark the Quds Day
(photo credit: BEHROUZ MEHRI /AFP)
Labor MP Joan Ryan said that Iran is attempting to pose a new threat on Israel by funding Hezbollah terrorists and creating a "second front in southern Syria with which to threaten Israel."
The British parliament member made the comment about Iran's on-going aggression against Israel as part of a parliamentary debate on Iran's influence in the Middle East that took place earlier this week.
According to the Jewish Chronicle, Ryan went on to add that Iran's position on Israel is "utterly malign." She explained that Iranian threats on Israel are not just limited to its nuclear activity but that have now received a new form, with Tehran's funding of Hezbollah's military wing serving as an attempt to undermine Israel's security "through support for terrorism."
While most of her speech was related to Iran's affiliation to terror groups in the Middle East and the indirect threat it tries to pose on Israel through these ties, she also mentioned that Iran has a history of calling for the destruction of the Jewish state.
Netanyahu: Iran is responsible for more than 80% of Israel"s security problems (credit: GPO)
Ryan, who chairs the Labor Friends of Israel, the parliamentary group that seeks to promote bilateral connections between Britain and Israel, cautioned against Iran's capabilities and their possibly destructive repercussions in the already volatile Middle East. The international nuclear deal had "done nothing to satisfy Iran's appetite to establish regional hegemony in the Middle East," she stated.
In her statements Ryan also urged British as well as European leaders to stand by Israel's side and not to turn a blind eye to Iran's alignment with Hezbollah and other terror groups in the region nor to its more than problematic human rights record. "Iran wants to foment conflict, not peace. It is an oppressive regime at home and abroad."