The Israeli government was angered by a report in the New York Times that claimed that Israel had informed the US government that they were behind the assassination of top Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps officer Colonel Hasan Syed Khodayari in Tehran last week.
The NYTreport cited an unnamed US intelligence official who stated that the targeted killing was meant as a warning to Iran to halt the operations of Unit 840, a special unit within the IRGC Quds force. According to the Israeli government, the IDF, and intelligence officials, Unit 840 is tasked with abductions and assassinations of foreigners around the world, including Israeli civilians and officials.
According to Channel 12 News, Israeli officials were angered by what they described as an intelligence leak to the NYT.
Israeli officials told the Hebrew news site that they are demanding answers from their American counterparts, as the New York Times report places responsibility for the killing solely on Israel and absolves the US of having played any role. The Israeli officials were concerned that the report might lead to Iranian reprisals against Israeli targets.
Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz said on Thursday that the United States should provide explanations for the leaks to the media..
“The Americans are the ones who need to explain what happened that resulted in this being brought to the media. I am leaving the explanations to our conversations with the Americans,” Ushpiz said in an interview on Reshet Bet radio.
Such leaks by high-level US officials are disturbingly common. In March 2012, an intelligence leak revealed Israel’s efforts to establish a secret staging ground in Azerbaijan for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The leak was intended to prevent an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. in April last year, a leaked videotape revealed that Former Secretary of State John Kerryleaked sensitive intelligence information to Iran about top-secret Israeli attacks on Iranian interests in Syria.
In 2012, the Obama administration leaked Israel’s role in the Stuxnet cyberattacks on Iran’s nuclear program.
No comments:
Post a Comment