Trump said Thursday it was time for Washington to recognise Israel's sovereignty over the strategic territory, which it seized from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and annexed in a move never recognised internationally.
"The American position towards Syria's occupied Golan Heights clearly reflects the United States' contempt for international legitimacy and its flagrant violation of international law," a foreign ministry source told the official SANA news agency. "The Golan was and will remain Arab and Syrian," the source said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted he was"shocked by @realDonaldTrump continuing to try to give what is not his to racist Israel." Egypt urged"respect legitimate international resolutions and the United Nations Charter on the unacceptability of land appropriation by force". It has also targeted suspected positions of Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, which have intervened militarily to back President Bashar al-Assad. Since the Syrian government decisively defeated rebel fighters near the armistice line last year with Iranian and Hezbollah support, Israel has repeatedly vowed to prevent its arch enemies from establishing a long-term military presence.