The four members of the Syrian cell who died while planting several explosives in Golan Heights earlier this week were operating on Iranian orders, Israel Forces Chief of General Staff Aviv Kochavi said on Friday.
Kochavi said Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and al-Quds Brigade were directly responsible for this cell.
The General was speaking during a meeting with soldiers from the Maglan reconnaissance unit, who foiled last week's attack.
He said that the cell operated on direct Iranian orders, contrary to early assumptions that claimed it belonged to the Lebanese Hezbollah and was trying to avenge the killing of one of its members in Damascus last month.
Kochavi stated that the goals of the “war between wars” were to foil the establishment of a radical axis on the northern front, and prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
The General stressed that Israel would continue to work to prevent its enemies from acquiring dangerous weaponry.
“We are going to continue this process of striking our enemies and depriving them of these abilities 360 degrees, from the northern arena to Judea and Samaria, in the southern arena and in other various circles that we will not discuss here,” he said.
Kochavi called on his officers to be vigilant, analyze the current situation in the various fields, and propose the best solutions that preserve the Israeli "superiority".
Another military official indicated that Tehran’s envoys to the Golan Heights were trying to recruit young Syrians for their military purposes, and a Syrian militia affiliated with Iran was leading its members.
He explained that Iran was taking advantage of the dire economic situations in southern Syria, and offered a salary equivalent to $20 a month to each new recruit.
The official explained how that was not limited to the cell, but a widely spread phenomenon where hundreds of young Syrians joined the Iranian units.
He indicated that Iran’s expansion activities continued despite an Israeli-Russian-Iranian understanding to keep forces 80 kilometers from the frontier on the Golan Heights.
