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Iran threatens Israel with “devastating thunderbolts” following Syria air strike
The fallout continued yesterday from an air strike in Syria on Sunday, which killed senior Hezbollah commanders and an Iranian Revolutionary Guards general.
Although Israel’s military has made no official comment about Sunday’s operation, it is thought to have been an Israeli strike. It is still unclear exactly how many died in the raid, but Israeli media reports say that those targeted were planning to strike Israel with rocket attacks, cross-border infiltrations, border bombings and anti-tank fire. Hezbollah confirmed that among those killed were a commander known as Abu Issa and a district commander, Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of the late Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh, a notorious terror operative. Iran has admitted that General Mohammad Allahdadi of the Revolutionary Guards was also among the dead.
In response, Revolutionary Guards chief, General Muhammad Ali Jafari told Fars news agency, “The Zionists must await devastating thunderbolts,” adding, “These martyrdoms proved the need to stick with jihad.” Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said that Israel is responsible for “all acts of terrorism” in the region.
Meanwhile, there was speculation yesterday that Israel did not intend to kill such high-profile targets in the air strike. Reuters quotes an Israeli military source, saying that, “We did not expect the outcome in terms of the stature of those killed – certainly not the Iranian general,” and “We thought we were hitting an enemy field unit that was on its way to carry out an attack on us at the frontier fence.” However, speaking to Army Radio, former Shin Bet chief and Yesh Atid MK Ya’akov Peri described Sunday’s raid as an “intelligence and operational success.” Relating to the intent of the strike, he said “when an operation like this rises to levels of national significance all the consequences must be checked and weighed.”
In light of heightened tensions, the IDF yesterday closed a section of road near the Lebanese border. Ynet reported that tanks and armoured personnel carriers were transported north as a precaution.