Ofir Akunis, Israel's consul general in New York, commented on the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, saying in an interview with Ynet that "we are very lucky that we did not withdraw from the Golan Heights. We are fortunate that we are sitting on the cease-fire lines today." According to him, "there is no intelligence agency in the world that was not surprised by the speed of the fall of the Assad regime. This should worry us, we need to be on guard. The rebels are not Zionists." He also referred to the talks on the hostage deal: "The Iranians understand that reality has changed. The deal is closer than ever before."