Jerusalem: Israel released satellite images yesterday of Iranian bases in Syria, a clear warning to its old enemy as both are drawn deeper into the Syrian conflict.
The Israeli military said it believed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was planning to attack Israel in the coming days; retaliation for its strike on an Iranian drone base in Syria in the early hours of April 9 in which seven Iranians died.
Intelligence officers say that the attack could come today, to coincide with Israel’s 70th anniversary celebrations.
The release of satellite images was intended to signal to Iran that Israel knows the location of its elite expeditionary Quds Force bases in Syria and stands ready to strike.
Last week’s attack by the US, Britain and France on the Assad regime’s chemical weapons facilities, and US President Donald Trump’s determination to disengage, have stoked fears in Israel about the threats it could face from a Syria under the unchallenged control of Russia and Iran. Russia helped to turn the tide of the war in Bashar al-Assad’s favour with air power, but the dictator has relied on Iranian and Shia militias, as well as thousands of IRGC troops and advisers, to retake territory from rebels.
Read the article in The Australian (from The Times).