Israel and Iran are in “direct confrontation,” Naim al-Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general, warned on Tuesday.
His comments should be interpreted as a message to Jerusalem that the gloves are coming off in Tehran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is angry about alleged Israeli strikes on Iranian assets in Syria.
His comments should be interpreted as a message to Jerusalem that the gloves are coming off in Tehran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is angry about alleged Israeli strikes on Iranian assets in Syria.
The strike on the T4 air base on April 9 was a blow to Iran, more than just an attempt to do what some Israeli experts have called “mowing the grass” to reduce threats. Efraim Inbar and Eitan Shamir argued in a 2014 paper that “Israel’s strategy in the 21st century against hostile non-state groups, reflects the assumption that Israel finds itself in a protracted intractable conflict.”
Use of force is designed to weaken the enemy, not to achieve “impossible political goals.” An impossible goal would be to remove Iran entirely from Syria.
Why send the Hezbollah messenger? Because Tehran prefers to send mixed messages as part of its strategy. “Israel is trying to draw lines, limiting the ‘resistance axis’ and its freedom of action,” Qassem said. He claimed, as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has in the past, that Israel does not want a real war. Hezbollah claims that its and the rest of Iran’s proxies and “axis of resistance’s” freedom of action will not be curtailed by Israel.
Iran is still mourning the seven IRGC soldiers killed the air strike on its T4 base in Syria, including Col. Mehdi Dehgan, who led its drone unit.
Why send the Hezbollah messenger? Because Tehran prefers to send mixed messages as part of its strategy. “Israel is trying to draw lines, limiting the ‘resistance axis’ and its freedom of action,” Qassem said. He claimed, as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has in the past, that Israel does not want a real war. Hezbollah claims that its and the rest of Iran’s proxies and “axis of resistance’s” freedom of action will not be curtailed by Israel.
Iran is still mourning the seven IRGC soldiers killed the air strike on its T4 base in Syria, including Col. Mehdi Dehgan, who led its drone unit.
We know now that the February attempt by Iran to fly a drone into Israel was a greater threat than previously reported. It was armed with explosives and, according to reports, not meant to merely test or harass.
Iranian regime media is playing up the Hezbollah comments. Press TV and Fars News both have it on their homepages, claiming “Israel won’t be allowed to set rules of engagement in Syria.” Press TV also is attempting to highlight Israel’s alleged violation of Syrian airspace and flouting Russian air defense in Syria, by claiming that Israel has said it will not have its actions limited in Syria.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Monday that “sooner or later” Tehran will respond to Israel’s “hostile policies.”
Should all this be believed? Hezbollah keeps saying that Israel does not want a real war. Hezbollah says that limits must be set on Israel’s actions. Tehran reports that Hezbollah wants those limits put into place.
It almost seems like each one is passing the buck to the other, hoping to goad the other into taking action. And if not Hezbollah or Tehran, then they want to encourage Russia to do something in Syria to curtail what they claim is Israel’s impunity.
Should all this be believed? Hezbollah keeps saying that Israel does not want a real war. Hezbollah says that limits must be set on Israel’s actions. Tehran reports that Hezbollah wants those limits put into place.
It almost seems like each one is passing the buck to the other, hoping to goad the other into taking action. And if not Hezbollah or Tehran, then they want to encourage Russia to do something in Syria to curtail what they claim is Israel’s impunity.
Israel is preparing for a crossborder attack by the Revolutionary Guard Corps, in response to a strike allegedly carried out by the Jewish state against an Iranian-operated air base in Syria that killed seven of its soldiers.
Israel believes the attack will come in the form of precision- guided missiles or armed drones launched from a base in Syria by the IRGC itself – not by proxies, as was done before – under the command of Quds Force commander Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Israel believes the attack will come in the form of precision- guided missiles or armed drones launched from a base in Syria by the IRGC itself – not by proxies, as was done before – under the command of Quds Force commander Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
“Israel will react strongly to any Iranian action from inside Syria,” a senior IDF source told Sky News in Arabic, adding that Iran plans to attack Israel from Syria.
According to the pictures, the IRGC has established several bases in Syria including a military base in Deir al-Zor province in eastern Syria where Ilyushin planes transporting weapons from Iran to Syria can be seen.
The aerial intelligence photos showed five air bases with an IRGC presence: T4, Aleppo, Deir al-Zor, Damascus International Airport and another airfield south of the capital.
The aerial intelligence photos showed five air bases with an IRGC presence: T4, Aleppo, Deir al-Zor, Damascus International Airport and another airfield south of the capital.
The photos reportedly illustrate how Tehran remains capable of flying in surface- to-surface missiles to the war-torn country as well as unmanned aerial vehicles under the guise of humanitarian aid.
Tensions have risen dramatically between the two archenemies following the infiltration of an Iranian drone into northern Israel, which the IDF on Friday said was armed and on an attack mission against the Jewish state.
Last week, an alleged Israeli air strike on Syria’s T4 Airbase in Homs province killed seven IRGC soldiers, including Col.
Mehdi Dehghan who led the drone unit operating out of the base. A senior IDF official confirmed to The New York Times on Monday that Israel was behind the attack, stating the February incident “opened a new period” between the Jewish state and the Islamic Republic.
Last week, an alleged Israeli air strike on Syria’s T4 Airbase in Homs province killed seven IRGC soldiers, including Col.
Mehdi Dehghan who led the drone unit operating out of the base. A senior IDF official confirmed to The New York Times on Monday that Israel was behind the attack, stating the February incident “opened a new period” between the Jewish state and the Islamic Republic.
Following the strike, Ali Akbar Velayati, the top aide to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warned that Israel “should be waiting for a powerful response” to the strike on the airfield, saying “it will not remain unanswered.”
Khamenei’s representative to the IRGC, Ali Shirazi, cautioned, “If Israel wants to continue its treacherous existence... it should avoid stupid measures. If they give excuses to Iran, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be destroyed.”
Khamenei’s representative to the IRGC, Ali Shirazi, cautioned, “If Israel wants to continue its treacherous existence... it should avoid stupid measures. If they give excuses to Iran, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be destroyed.”
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