Israeli television reported Saturday that an airstrike in Syria targeted Iranian efforts to bring “game-changing” air defense systems to Syria.
According to Channel 12 news, the location of the morning strike in Syria’s al-Hamidiyyah town, near the port city of Tartus, “implies that it [targeted] A weapon that is transported by sea, possibly using Iranian ships that stopped at the port last week.”
The report said the attack came amid “a new move by the Iranians in Syria to introduce air defense systems to protect their military interests”.
The network did not provide any sources for evaluation; According to Syrian state media, the airstrikes “Poultry Farm” Destroyed and injured two civilians.
Military officials have said in the past that Syria advanced Its air defense capabilities with advanced Iranian-made components. In the 2018 strike, Israel reportedly targeted Iranian advanced air defense system to be deployed soon.
Channel 12 said on Saturday that this “new effort” was led by a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in collaboration with the Syrian military, aimed at enabling Tehran to operate its air defense systems in Syria.
The network named the IRGC official as Fareed Mehmed Sakai, saying, “It is no coincidence that his name is now being published.” No details were given about where the officer’s name was published, nor was any further information given about his rank and position.
Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks on targets in Syria over the years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations. It says it targets Iran and allied militias targets, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, which has fighters stationed in Syria, as well as weapons shipments believed to be bound to various proxies.
In another non-source report, Channel 12 said two explosions occurred at an IRGC base southeast of Tehran, causing “extensive damage” on Friday night.
There has been no official comment on the incident, which was widely circulated on social media and was raised by the opposition backing Iran International, which is based in London.
