A high-ranking Israeli official is the source behind reports published two days ago by Newsweek saying Iran has sent “suicide drones” to its allies in Yemen, military sources in Tel Aviv revealed Friday.
Newsweek said Thursday that imagery seen by the magazine and confirmed by an expert, who follows Iranian activities in the region, indicate the presence of Iranian Shahed-136 loitering munitions deployed to the northern Yemeni province of Al-Jawf, an area of the country controlled by the Houthi militias.
The release of the report aims to convey a message to Iran that Israel’s security agencies “see everything that it is doing to boost its military powers in the region and increase its threats to Israel and its allies,” the sources said.
They stressed that the report also coincides with official reports published this week in Tel Aviv saying Israel deployed Iron Drone batteries around the southern Red Sea city of Eilat amid concerns of an attack from the Houthis and had stepped up its flights near the border with Lebanon and Syria.
“Israel is indirectly saying it is ready to confront Iran and its proxies,” the sources added.
Meanwhile, Israeli media published statements delivered by current and former Israeli military officials about Tel Aviv’s plan to confront Iran, including its nuclear program, ballistic missiles and even its presence in Syria.
Those statements were clear in showing that Israel would continue to launch airstrikes against Iranian positions in Syria even with the change of administration in the United States.
Haaretz's military expert Amos Harel wrote: “Besides an apparent renewed effort to disrupt Iran’s attempt to move arms and militias through Iraq and Syria, there’s the message that Israel will continue to strike regardless of the new president’s Iran policy.”
Maariv's military analyst Tal Lev Ram wrote Friday that despite the series of successful attacks attributed to the Israeli military, “Tel Aviv understands that the exit of Iran and its proxies from Syria will only be possible thanks to apolitical move led by the US and Russia.”
“Until then, the conflict will continue and may even intensify,” he warned.
