Israeli Mossad Chief: Iran Seeking to Move its Military Bases to N. Syria

Head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency Yossi Cohen. (Reuters)
Head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency Yossi Cohen. (Reuters)
TT
20

Israeli Mossad Chief: Iran Seeking to Move its Military Bases to N. Syria

Head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency Yossi Cohen. (Reuters)
Head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency Yossi Cohen. (Reuters)

Head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency Yossi Cohen said Monday that Iran and its proxy, the Lebanese Hezbollah party, were planning to move parts of their military bases in southern Syria to the North.

Cohen said "Mossad is detecting a trend" in response to Israeli strikes in Syria and that Iran and Hezbollah "are asking to move some bases to northern Syria, a place that they mistakenly think we will have a harder time reaching."

In recent years, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria that have targeted Iran and Hezbollah, which it calls the biggest threat to its borders.

Iran and Hezbollah are fighting on the side of regime leader Bashar Assad in the Syrian war, and Israel says they are trying to turn Syria into a new front against Israelis.

Speaking at a security conference in Israel, Cohen acknowledged that Israel had carried out several strikes against Iranian targets inside Syria.

In an apparent reference to reported Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria early Monday, he said Israel was not interested in a conflict with its neighbor, reported Israeli media.

He stressed that Israel cannot allow Syria to transform into a logistics base to transport weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel had worked covertly and openly for the past four years to prevent the further entrenchment of forces in Syria.

The Iranians will eventually conclude that their efforts in Syria “are not worth it,” he remarked.

Turning to tensions between Gulf countries, the United States and Iran over a series of recent attacks on oil tankers, oil fields in Saudi Arabia and targets in Baghdad, Cohen said: "I can tell you, with certainty, from the best sources of Israeli and Western intelligence, that Iran is behind the attacks."

“They were approved by the Iranian leadership, and were carried out, at least mostly, by the Revolutionary Guard and their surrogates."

He did not specify which attacks he was referring to nor provide further details on the sources.

Four ships, including three oil tankers, were damaged in sabotage attacks off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in May, while two more tankers, Norwegian and Japanese, came under attack in the Gulf of Oman on June 13.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have blamed Iran, which strongly denies the accusations.



Israel Targets Suspected Arms Smuggler in Airstrike Near Beirut

Lebanese soldiers inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a vehicle south of Beirut (AFP)
Lebanese soldiers inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a vehicle south of Beirut (AFP)
TT
20

Israel Targets Suspected Arms Smuggler in Airstrike Near Beirut

Lebanese soldiers inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a vehicle south of Beirut (AFP)
Lebanese soldiers inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a vehicle south of Beirut (AFP)

An Israeli airstrike killed a suspected arms smuggler south of Beirut on Thursday, in a sharp escalation in Lebanon that coincided with internal talks over Hezbollah’s disarmament in line with US demands, Lebanese officials said.

The strike targeted a vehicle on the coastal highway in the Khalde area, just south of the Lebanese capital, according to the state-run National News Agency. Social media footage showed a missile hitting a car, which came to a halt before a second strike hit the driver as he attempted to flee.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed one person was killed and three others wounded in the attack.

The Israeli military said the strike eliminated an operative working on behalf of Iran’s Quds Force, accusing him of trafficking weapons and planning attacks against Israeli civilians and military forces.

Israel’s Army Radio reported that the individual was affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The strike comes amid rising tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border and as Lebanese factions discuss the future of Hezbollah’s weapons amid pressure from Washington to curtail the group’s military power.

Thursday’s airstrike was one of the few Israeli attacks in or near Beirut since the truce with Hezbollah took effect in November.

Only two other strikes have been recorded in the area over the past eight months, including one on Eid al-Fitr that killed a senior Hezbollah figure allegedly linked to coordination with Hamas in the group’s southern Beirut stronghold.

Another strike in Naameh, south of the capital, targeted and killed a senior official from the Islamic Group, a Sunni faction with ties to southern Lebanon’s Hasbaya region.

The latest escalation comes as Lebanese leaders prepare a unified response to a US-backed proposal calling for Hezbollah to disarm and place all weapons under state control.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel has maintained positions in southern Lebanon beyond the agreed February withdrawal deadline and continues to carry out airstrikes across southern and eastern Lebanon, following more than a year of cross-border hostilities with Hezbollah.