Reports indicate that Iran may be preparing to supply Syria with surface-to-air missiles intended to bolster its air defense network against potential strikes by aircraft and drones. This is according to coverage in Sarku’l Avsat and a report from Iranian state television cited by various outlets.
Observers note that Syria is seeking to reinforce its defenses in response to repeated Israeli air operations over the region. Analysts suggest that Tehran could provide precision munitions to help rebuild a more capable air defense system for Syrian forces and allied elements. There is speculation that Iran might deploy radar apparatus and defense missiles, including elements of the 15 Khordad system, to strengthen Syria’s ability to detect and counter aerial threats.
In Damascus, attention has returned to the night of Sunday, February 19, when a strike damaged the Technical Institute buildings and the cultural center. A briefing by Major General Oleg Gurinov, the Deputy Head of Russia’s Center for Reconciliation of the Warring Parties in Syria, described the event as a concerted Israeli air raid.
According to Gurinov, four Israeli Air Force F-16 jets launched the attack from over the Golan Heights. Casualties were reported as five people killed and fifteen wounded, with the toll underscoring the ongoing human impact of the hostilities in the area.
News outlets cited sources close to the Syrian government stating that the strike targeted a group of Syrian and Iranian technical specialists working on unmanned aerial vehicle production. It was noted that no Iranian dignitaries were among the deceased, though Iranian professionals were said to have been present at the time.
Additional accounts described the Iranians as attending a technical experts meeting at an Iranian military facility located within a secured compound that included a basement-level space in an apartment building. The information reflects the complex, often blurred lines between military and civilian infrastructure involved in the broader conflict.
Among the deceased was a Syrian civil engineer affiliated with the Syrian Research and Development Center, an institution cited by Western governments as a focus of missile and chemical weapons research. Damascus has repeatedly denied such accusations, emphasizing a dual-use mandate for civilian and research activities.
Earlier statements from the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli strikes on Damascus and called on Israel to cease armed provocations that could destabilize the wider region. The ministry urged restraint and warned of dangerous consequences for regional security if such actions continued, highlighting the broader geopolitical stakes at play in Syria and its neighborhoods.