People familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal that Israel is stepping up its campaign to thwart Iran’s nuclear, missile and drone programs through a series of covert operations targeting a wider range of key targets.
The move comes just weeks before US President Joe Biden’s visit, which Israel is counting on to help strengthen regional security ties against Iran.
These new measures are the latest strategic development that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has called the “Octopus Doctrine”, which aims to bring the Israeli war against Iran into Iranian territory after years of targeting Iranian agents and Tehran’s proxies in some countries. It is like Syria.
Earlier this month, Bennett told a parliamentary committee: “Last year, Israel acted against the terrorist octopus, Iran itself, and not just against weapons, as it did decades ago. Exemption from the punishment with which Iran attacks Israel and spreads terrorism through its proxies. The area was completed free of charge.
And the Wall Street Journal sources say that Israel intensified its campaign last year with small drone strikes to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and attack Iran’s drone base.
Iran blamed Israel for the assassination of a Revolutionary Guards colonel last month, who were suspected of running combat teams abroad to target Israelis.
Hassan Sayad Khodai, who was accused by Israel of planning attacks on his citizens around the world, was assassinated by two motorcycles while driving.
At the time, the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency reported that the Revolutionary Guards had discovered and arrested members of an Israeli intelligence network immediately after the assassination in Tehran. Iran vowed to avenge the death of God and pointed the finger at Israel.
This method was repeated in previous assassinations in Iran, which mainly targeted scientists in the field of nuclear energy, who were mainly to blame for the Israeli intelligence service (Mossad).
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its responsibility, and this is its usual policy on terrorism charges.
According to the newspaper’s sources, Israel is now expanding its campaign, realizing that Iran has made significant progress in arms uranium production after years of focusing its covert efforts on Iran’s nuclear program.
The sources added that the goal now is to prevent Tehran from building a nuclear warhead and a missile that can carry it.
According to Israel, on the other hand, Iran threatens to attack Iranian citizens around the world.
And last week, Israel raised its travel warning to Istanbul to the highest level because it said Iran was threatening to kill or abduct Israelis living in Turkey.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said the “great efforts” of Israeli security forces had saved the lives of Israelis in recent weeks and thanked the Turkish government for its assistance.
He did not provide further details. An Israeli security official told Reuters that Ankara had arrested a number of suspected “agents” of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Source: Lebanon Debate
