Israel broadens Golan deployments and warns tougher action if Syrian regime persists in attacks on Druze, as U.S., Syria and Israel issue stark statements.

As the Israeli Air Force conducts strikes in southern Syria, a military official says, “The more the Syrian regime has intervened, the worse it looks.”

“Without a firm and verifiable commitment from Iran, we will do so by the end of August at the latest,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

The IDF “will soon raise the level of its responses” if Syrian forces continue to threaten the Druze community in southern Syria, said Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Large columns of Syrian regime forces rolled into Sweida amid violent clashes between Druze militias and forces loyal to the Sunni Islamist regime.

Tehran vows a “proportionate response” as Germany reportedly seeks to trigger snapback sanctions over nuclear deal violations.

“I think with Iran, the game is still on,” Assaf Orion, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told JNS. “It’s not ‘Mission Accomplished.’ We can’t go and have beers because this problem is solved.”

“I’d like to believe that Iran would not test our fortitude, because it would be a mistake,” the Israeli prime minister said of any effort by Iran to try to harm the United States or Israel.

A historic compromise in the shadow of war – could leasing the Golan Heights allow both sides to save face?