Israel warns Iran of strikes on military airbases in Syria

Israel publishes satellite images of Iranian military bases in Syria, in a clear warning to Tehran — we know where your forces are.

An Israeli F-15 fighter jet. Picture: AFP.

Israel has released satellite images of an Iranian military base just outside the Syrian capital of Damascus, in what appears to be a clear warning to Tehran — we know where your forces are.

The images, published by Fox News, reportedly show warehouses storing missiles capable of hitting all of Israel on bases operated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards special operations Quds Force.

Fox reports the Revolutionary Guards’ air force presence is located in five airports in Syria including Damascus International airport.

The Deir ez-Zor base in Syria, where Israeli defence officials say planes have been pictured transporting weapons from Iran to Syria. (IDF)

Amid concerns the Syrian civil war will expand into a much wider conflict centring on Iran and Israel, the Israeli military said it believed the Revolutionary Guards was planning an imminent attack on Israel in retalion for the Israel strike on an Iranian drone base in Syria early this month. The London Times reports Iran’s attack could come tomorrow, to coincide with Israel’s 70th anniversary celebrations. The newspaper notes that the release of the satellite images was intended to signal to Iran that Israel knows the location of its Quds Force bases and is ready to strike.

It has also emerged that the Israeli military targeted an Iranian air-defence system in Syria last week with tacit US support. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly conferred with Donald Trump before ordering the strike on anti-aircraft battery to prevent Iranian forces from using it against Israel warplanes in Syria.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Picture: AFP.

Israel has not officially admitted to the strike but the White House confirmed it had been told of the attack before it happened.

An Israeli military official told The New York Times that the strike marked “the first time we attacked live Iranian targets, both facilities and people”.

The US President’s plans to remove US troops from Syria and replace them with Arab troops has provoked fears in Jerusalem that it could face a Syria run by Russia and Iran, and that Iran is planning to increase its infrastructure in Syria to conduct asymmetric warfare against Israel.

The fears have been reinforced by recent reports in the Western press about the presence of Iranian military experts in Syria and the presence of the sinister head of the Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, in eastern Syria.

A senior Israeli intelligence official told The London Times: “Despite all the diplomacy and warnings, the Iranians are still going to try to build their permanent bases in Syria and so far, we don’t see Putin trying very hard to stop them. Russia needs the Iranians to supply boots on the ground. As for the US, we have yet to see a clear policy from the Trump administration on the Syrian issue.”

Last week in a speech at the International Security Conference in Munich, Mr Netanyahu threatened a direct hit on Iran. “Israel will not allow the Iranian regime to put a noose of terror around our neck,” he said.