Israel’s military is on high alert preparing for the strong probability of direct retaliation from Iran in response to last week’s attack on the Tiyus (T-4) air base in central Syria.
Seven of the 14 people killed in the Israeli air strike on the base were members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps’ elite Quds Force.
Israeli media have been supplied with a map that displays five Iranian-controlled bases in Syria – clearly the five Iranian targets to be hit by the IDF in retaliation if Iran attacks Israel. The targets include Damascus International Airport – through which Iran flies in its weapons and military gear; the Sayqal air base; the T-4 (Tiyus) air base; an air field near Aleppo (Haleb); and a military base near Deir ez-Zour.
Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani this week issued a direct threat to Israel from Damascus after arriving for a briefing on the T-4 air strike, which an Israeli official told The New York Times this week was indeed was carried out by Israel’s Air Force.
He warned in remarks quoted Tuesday by Lebanon’s Ad-Diyar newspaper that the Jewish State “is going to pay the price,” according to Israel’s Hadashot news.
The Quds Force commander was briefed on the air strike by Iranian and Syrian officers, and also met with members of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrilla force during his rare visit to the Syrian capital.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Qasemi told media on Monday that retaliation would forthcoming “sooner or later” and that Israel would “regret its misdeeds… The Zionist regime should not be able to take action and be exempt from punishment,” he said, according to Iranian news media.
Israel has said it will not allow Iran to maintain a permanent military foothold in Syria.