Syrian conflict
Fighters loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad take positions in Damascus - Reuters

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has warned Israel against any attack on his country as he waits for the S-300 missile shipment from Russia.

Assad declared Syria will strike back if Israel resorts to military aggression against his country as tensions continued to rise in the fragile Golan Heights region.

"We have informed all the parties who have contacted us that we will respond to any Israeli aggression next time. There is clear popular pressure to open a new front of resistance in the Golan. There are several factors, including repeated Israeli aggression," Assad said in an interview to Hezbollah-owned al Manar TV.

Assad also expressed confidence that he would win the battle against Syrian rebels which he described as a "world war against Syria and the resistance [Shiite militant group Hezbollah]".

"Regarding my confidence about victory, had we not had this confidence, we wouldn't have been able to fight in this battle for two years, facing an international attack," he said.

Israel has not immediately reacted to Assad's remarks.

Assad's comments come as he awaits a missile shipment from Moscow. Russia has confirmed it is sending the sophisticated missiles despite widespread calls from western nations and Israel for the shipment to be halted.

Although reports speculated that Assad had already received the missiles, which Israel regards as a threat to its territory, officials in Moscow say that the weapons have not yet been shipped.

A senior official told the country's Interfax news agency that no shipment has been made. He made it clear Russia will honour the deal.

Assad has not spoken clearly on the Russian shipment during his interview but said: "We have been negotiating with them about different types of weapons for years and Russia is committed to Syria to implement these contracts. All we have agreed on with Russia will be implemented and some of it has been implemented recently, and we and the Russians continue to implement these contracts."

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