It was a weekend of revelations. Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, in his farewell interviews, finally confirmed that the Israeli army has attacked thousands of targets in Syria. On Sunday, the prime minister revealed that Israel was responsible for the Friday night attack in Damascus. This is a calculated move. The Israeli decision to end the ambiguity of its attacks in Syria is based on events in Iran itself, where a lively debate has been going on for almost a year about the extent to which the Islamic Republic should involve itself in conflicts outside its borders – conflicts that also mean huge expenditure.

The supporters of Iranian interference throughout the Middle East —including assistance to Hezbollah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas —are the conservative ayatollahs and members of the Revolutionary Guards. This group also includes Qassem Suleimani, the head of the elite Quds Force within the Revolutionary Guards, who is directly subordinate to the Supreme (spiritual and political) Leader Ali Khamenei. The supreme leader supports Suleimani’s actions and approves budgets for exporting the Islamic revolution, which is the mission of the Quds Force.

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