Commanders along the border between Syrian territory and the Israeli occupied Golan Heights say that the Syrian army has been deploying substantial reinforcements to the area to bolster air defenses.

Israel has been repeatedly attacking Syria in recent months with airstrikes from both Israeli airspace and Lebanon. Syria is said to want to get its reinforcements into the region for a deterrent factor.

This appears to be timed for an upcoming Syrian offensive against rebels in the southwest. Nominally, Israel made a deal with Russia promising not to interfere so long as Iranian forces didn’t take part. Clearly, Syria isn’t entirely sure that’s going to remain the case.

That’s unsurprising, as Israel’s definition of “Iranian forces” is wildly different from either Russia or Syria’s. Israel has claimed massive numbers of “Iranians” in Syria by claiming all Shi’ite militias are effectively Iranians, even though the vast majority are not from Iran.