Reports About Iranian Plan to Invade Israel

Hezbollah fighters during the funeral of a member killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern town of Aita al-Shaab on August 23 (AFP)
Hezbollah fighters during the funeral of a member killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern town of Aita al-Shaab on August 23 (AFP)
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Reports About Iranian Plan to Invade Israel

Hezbollah fighters during the funeral of a member killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern town of Aita al-Shaab on August 23 (AFP)
Hezbollah fighters during the funeral of a member killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern town of Aita al-Shaab on August 23 (AFP)

Security circles in Tel Aviv warned on Friday of an Iranian plot to “invade” Israel and shower it with a belt of fire from all fronts, from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, and from Lebanon and Syria to Iraq and Yemen.

The circles criticize Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that he recently revealed the plan by Tehran, but is doing nothing to confront it except giving speeches.

Ben Caspit, the political correspondent for the Maariv newspaper, who conveyed the warnings of the security circles, said that Iran and Hezbollah have taken control of the CERS Institute, the center of the Syrian military industry, which produces chemical weapons and accurate missiles.

The Israeli Alma Center for Defense Research stated in a study last year that the real purpose of CERS is to develop weapons for the regime in Syria, and that it operates under the cover of a civilian scientific research center. The study claims that the institute includes secret military facilities that serve the Syrian and Iranian armies and Hezbollah.

The Maariv correspondent, Ben Caspit, quotes a military official as saying that a tunnel network is being dug from Damascus International Airport, leading to various storage and concealment sites in Syria, in order to “circumvent” the Israeli Air Force’s bombing operations.

The tunnel network will allow Hezbollah to evade Israeli strikes and accelerate the movement’s expansion, he says.

A reserve brigadier general confirmed, according to Maariv, that Iran and Hezbollah have been using the drug smuggling route in the border triangle between Jordan, Syria and Israel, for the purpose of transporting weapons and combat equipment.

Caspit slammed the Israeli prime minister for “doing nothing” except for giving speeches.

He added that when there was a need to launch a preemptive strike on Hezbollah on Sunday morning, Netanyahu chose the easiest option he received from the army, but later instructed to water down the response, to prevent any potential escalation on the northern front.



Russian Helicopter with 22 on Board Goes Missing in Far East

A Russian Mi-24 helicopter flies at the Russian military base of Hmeimim, located south-east of the city of Latakia in Hmeimim, Latakia Governorate, Syria. (File photo: AFP)
A Russian Mi-24 helicopter flies at the Russian military base of Hmeimim, located south-east of the city of Latakia in Hmeimim, Latakia Governorate, Syria. (File photo: AFP)
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Russian Helicopter with 22 on Board Goes Missing in Far East

A Russian Mi-24 helicopter flies at the Russian military base of Hmeimim, located south-east of the city of Latakia in Hmeimim, Latakia Governorate, Syria. (File photo: AFP)
A Russian Mi-24 helicopter flies at the Russian military base of Hmeimim, located south-east of the city of Latakia in Hmeimim, Latakia Governorate, Syria. (File photo: AFP)

A Russian helicopter with three crew members and 19 passengers on board has gone missing in the far eastern peninsula of Kamchatka, the emergencies ministry said on Saturday.

The Mi-8T helicopter took off from a base near the Vachkazhets volcano and the crew failed to report at the scheduled time of 04:00 GMT, Interfax news agency reported, citing the federal air transport agency, Reuters reported.

The emergencies ministry said the search and rescue operation was being hampered by thick fog in the area.

Kamchatka, which is nine hours ahead of Moscow, is a popular tourist destination, known for its pristine rivers, geysers and volcanoes.