Syria: President Assad Orders Commanders to Target Israel, US Interests "If Assassinated"

President Assad Orders Commanders to Target Israel, US Interests "If Assassinated" TEHRAN (FNA)- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ordered his army commanders to target Israel and the US interests in the Middle East region in case he is assassinated by the terrorists, informed sources said on Monday.

President Assad's remarks came after he attended several meetings with his senior commanders, and discussed the country's security situation with them, the Algerian Al-Shorouq Oline newspaper quoted informed sources close to the Syrian government as saying on Monday.

In the meetings presided by President Assad, Syria's top army commanders told him that "the foreign hostile states will strive to assassinate him instead of launching a military attack on Syria".

According to the report, a Persian translation of which was released by the Iranian students news agency, the Syrian army commanders have told the President that the spy agencies of certain western states and Syria's neighboring countries have smuggled hi-tech missiles into Syria to provide armed rebels and terrorist groups with a chance to target President Assad's likely residence.

In response, President Assad has ordered his military commanders to target Israel and the US positions in the region, specially in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, if the western states succeed in assassinating him.

Earlier this month, President Assad voiced his readiness for dialogue with the opposition and political parties in Syria. The Syrian leader also proposed general elections, adoption of a new constitution as well as a national reconciliation conference.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling the President Bashar al-Assad's government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

According to the report, material is being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib near the Turkish border and in Zabadani on the Lebanese border.

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons - most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past - has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month.