JERUSALEM – Israel’s defense minister said on Monday that since assuming office late last year, Israel’s new administration had significantly increased the amount of strikes on Iranian targets.
Yoav Gallant did not specify the amount of airstrikes. However, the speech, delivered at a security conference, was one of the few public statements on Israeli military operations in Syria.
“The number of Israeli strikes against Iranians in Syria has more than doubled since I took office,” Gallant stated.
“As part of this campaign, we are working methodically to strike the Iranian intelligence capabilities in Syria,” he explained. “These strikes do significant damage to the Revolutionary Guard’s attempts to establish a foothold a few kilometers from the Israeli border.”
Gallant also accused Iran of transforming civilian ships into military vessels armed with drones, missiles, and intelligence collecting capabilities. He stated that Iran intends to place these ships at considerable distances from the country.
“Iran aims to expand its reach to the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and even the shores of the Mediterranean,” he warned. “This is a structured plan designed to threaten trade and flight routes — both military and civilian — as well as to create a permanent threat in the maritime arena.”
Iran is considered Israel’s most dangerous adversary, owing to its calls for Israel’s destruction and its support for anti-Israel violent groups throughout the region. It also accuses Iran of attempting to construct a nuclear weapon, which Iran rejects.
Israeli officials have admitted to carrying out hundreds of strikes against Iranian targets in neighboring Syria, where Iran has supplied advisers and forces to help President Bashar Assad in his 12-year civil war. However, officials have provided scant specifics in the past and almost never commented on specific operations.
Source: AP
