Iranian lawmaker says Israel would be 'first victim' of Syria strike

A senior Iranian lawmaker says Israel will be the “first victim” of any U.S.-led military strike on Syria, predicting that President Bashar Assad’s regime would fight back against the Jewish state.

“No military attack will be waged against Syria,” Hossein Sheikholeslam, the director general of the Iranian parliament’s International Affairs bureau, was quoted saying Monday by Iran’s Fars News Agency, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

“Yet, if such an incident takes place… the Zionist regime will be the first victim of a military attack on Syria,” he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that his country would respond "with force" if Syria does anything to harm it. His comments were his sternest on record on Syria.

More than 100,000 have been killed in Syria. Violence has occasionally spilled over into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, where Syrian mortar shells have landed.

The United States is considering military action against Assad's regime after it allegedly deployed chemical weapons against its citizens.

Israel has occasionally accused Syria of aiming at Israeli targets. Israeli troops have returned fire.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.