TEL AVIV — As Israelis prepare to celebrate the country’s 70th anniversary starting at sundown tonight, the Israel Defense Forces are on high alert for the possibility of direct Iranian retaliation for a reported Israeli strike in Syria that targeted an Iran-operated airbase.
In an unusual move, Iran’s state-run media admitted that seven of its “soldiers” were killed in the April 9 strike.
Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed retaliation. On Tuesday, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that Israel’s “crimes will not remain unanswered.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi further stated, “The Israeli regime’s aggression against Syria is a breach of this country’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and runs counter to all international regulations and principles.”
Neither Velayati nor Qassemi mentioned that Israel allegedly struck the T-4 airbase near Homs after it was brazenly used by Iran to send an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) into Israeli territory in February before it was quickly shot down by the Israeli military. The IDF revealed on Friday that its investigation concluded the Iranian drone sent from T-4 was carrying explosives and was seemingly deployed to attack an Israeli target.
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported the T-4 base housed an advanced Iranian air defense system and drone hangar, underscoring Iran’s military expansionism in Syria as Tehran helps to lead Bashar al-Assad’s successful counterinsurgency against the rebels targeting his regime.
