Israel Sends Submarines, Warships to Red Sea to Deter Iran

Tugboats are seen near a ship in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen. (Reuters)
Tugboats are seen near a ship in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen. (Reuters)
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Israel Sends Submarines, Warships to Red Sea to Deter Iran

Tugboats are seen near a ship in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen. (Reuters)
Tugboats are seen near a ship in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen. (Reuters)

Military sources in Tel Aviv revealed that the Israeli army sent a number of submarines, warships and forces from the Naval Commando unit to the Red Sea, raising alert level over possible Iranian move to avenge the assassinations of Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani and nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

The Walla Hebrew-language News Agency reported on Wednesday that the Israeli army has placed a number of military units on high alert, including forces from the submarine fleet and the 13th Squadron.

A senior security officer pointed out that an Israeli submarine sailed recently through the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea, and disappeared for several weeks underwater.

The officer noted that the decision to transfer the submarine to the Red Sea was taken in proportion to the security challenges in the region, and constitutes a message that Israel is prepared for all scenarios.

Iranian officials have accused the Israeli Mossad of being responsible for the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, in addition to the involvement of Israeli intelligence in the killing of Soleimani in a US raid in Baghdad.

Two weeks ago, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said that the strategic weigh of the Red Sea is increasing, in context of regional and international struggles for influence.

Cohen added that this is a strategic political opportunity for Israel to establish and improve ties with the countries in the region based on security interests. These interests are represented in protecting navigation and finding a deterrence system against Iran and Houthis in the region.

He also warned, in his statements to Walla News Agency, of threats in the Red Sea.



Turkish Intelligence Captures Suspect in 2013 Southern Türkiye Attack

The site of the blast in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, near the Turkish-Syrian border
The site of the blast in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, near the Turkish-Syrian border
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Turkish Intelligence Captures Suspect in 2013 Southern Türkiye Attack

The site of the blast in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, near the Turkish-Syrian border
The site of the blast in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, near the Turkish-Syrian border

Türkiye’s intelligence agency captured a man suspected of perpetrating a 2013 bomb attack in the southern Hatay province that killed 53 people, Turkish security sources said on Monday.

The sources said the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) captured, in Syria, Mohammed Dib Korali, one of the perpetrators of the twin car bombs that ripped through the border town of Reyhanli on May 11, 2013.

The MIT said Dib Korali was arrested in a cross-border operation into Syria and handed over to Hatay police.

He was suspected of planning the attack and providing the bombs.

In mid-December, Turkish law enforcement captured Cengiz Sertel, also one of the perpetrators of the deadly 2013 terrorist attack. Sertel was wanted under a red bulletin and the orange category on the Turkish Interior Ministry's list of those wanted for terrorism.

Sertel was found to have transferred the explosives used in the attack in the Reyhanli district of Hatay province from Syria to Türkiye, according to a written statement by the provincial governor's office.

On June 30, 2022, the mastermind of the Reyhanli attacks, Mehmet Gezer, was arrested after being extradited from the United States.

His arrest came after Yusuf Nazik confessed that Gezer played a key role in the bombing. US authorities delivered Gezer, a drug lord sought on a red notice with different 17 charges, to Turkish police upon their arrival at Istanbul Airport.

Türkiye continues its arrest campaign against suspects in the twin car bombs, which it says are linked to a group loyal to Syria’s then-President Bashar al-Assad.

In February 2018, a Turkish court sentenced nine suspects to life imprisonment and 13 other people to prison terms of 10 to 15 years for the bombings.

Reyhanli is located on the nearest point to Syria’s Aleppo province. It became a flashpoint after Ankara supported armed opposition factions against the Assad regime, which fell on December 8.