The assassination of Soleimani ... How did the Mossad decide the American strike?

Muhammad Mohsen Wedd-occupied Jerusalem

Military analysts have suggested that press reports indicating that Israel was involved in the assassination of the Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani through intelligence information provided by the Israeli Intelligence Agency (Mossad) to the American Intelligence Agency (CIA) at the time of Soleimani’s transfer between Damascus and Baghdad, would pay Iran or its militia to carry out attacks against Israeli targets.

And the American network "NBC" reported earlier on Sunday that the Mossad helped confirm Soleimani's presence in Damascus airport on his way to Baghdad before he was assassinated, while Israeli reports suggested that Washington deliberately not assassinated Soleimani in Syria to avoid involving Israel in A military confrontation with Hezbollah on the Lebanese front.

The New York Times added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the only foreign leader to know that Washington assassinated Soleimani after a conversation with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The American newspaper stated that Netanyahu alluded to the planned assassination, telling the media on his way to the capital, Athens, to participate in the tripartite summit of the Mediterranean Gas, "We follow events with vigilance and establish continuous contacts with America, and we fully support all American steps."

Netanyahu and Pompeo
Although the assassination was repudiated and considered an American affair, last December 30, Netanyahu had a telephone conversation with Foreign Minister Pompeo, praising the activities and operations of the United States against Iran and its militia in the region.

Netanyahu held telephone consultations with Pompeo 24 hours before Soleimani's assassination, which reinforces the belief that Netanyahu was aware of Soleimani's assassination plot, according to Israeli Channel 12, where the political analyst of the channel, Amnon Abramovich, stated that the political level in Israel prevented in many opportunities the assassination of Soleimani after she monitored it Israeli security services several times in Syrian territory.

And Netanyahu chose, during the weekly cabinet session on Sunday, to ignore reports indicating intelligence provided by the Mossad that helped assassinate Soleimani, and he was content with inciting the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, stressing that "Israel will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons."

Mystery and silence
On the other hand, the former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has accused the Israeli authorities and high-ranking figures of deliberately leaking information about the transfer of intelligence information from the Mossad to the American side that helped in eliminating Soleimani.

Lieberman said, "The news reported by the New York Times about the involvement of Israel in the assassination of Soleimani comes from Israeli sources, and this indicates a defect in the assessment."

"We need as far as possible to get away from the arena of conflict in the Middle East," Lieberman added, stressing the need for Israel to continue the approach of ambiguity and the policy of keeping silent about what is happening in the region, which is the correct and correct approach "that Israel can do specifically in this." Period".

Postponed and decided
Without revealing the Israeli sources and the nature of the intelligence information, intelligence analyst at the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Ronen Bergman, who participated in preparing the report published by the New York Times, said that Washington had planned over 18 months to assassinate Soleimani, stressing that last May The matter was resolved after Iran targeted Saudi oil installations and American forces in Iraq.

And Bergmann's review in statements to the official Israeli radio, "It was" the last days that the American intelligence lived after the assassination of Soleimani and its fears of the outbreak of an all-out war with Iran, pointing out that the final decision to carry out the assassination was taken in the last moments, and according to the last action, which is Soleimani boarding a plane in Damascus Heading to Baghdad.

According to the Israeli journalist who confirmed what was reported by the American newspaper in this regard, the assassination was postponed for three hours because the field laboratory at Damascus Airport could not confirm that Soleimani was on the plane, although the airline's website showed that the plane took off, and in the end Soleimani settled on Board the plane.

"Soleimani boarded the plane and landed in Baghdad. But the American intelligence did not know that Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis would be with him and accompany him. For them, this was a surprise. After the plane landed in Baghdad airport, they entered the vehicles as expected by the American intelligence, and at 12 o'clock: 47 The first missile hit the target, followed by several missiles, where Soleimani was killed and all who escorted him. "

Disclaim and get involved
For his part, Israeli military commentator 12 Roni Daniel sees the news that indicates that Israel provided intelligence that helped America in the campaign to eliminate Soleimani as a double-edged sword, and it has both good and bad sides.

The positive aspect, according to the military commentator, is that "Israel has become an important part of the intelligence community in Western countries, which transmits and exchanges information, while the Iranians realize that their actions and activities in the Middle East have consequences and that they are more vulnerable."

The downside, according to military estimates, is that "publication would drag Israel into a war and confrontation with Iran that it has deliberately avoided until now." Relations with any operation or attack, as Netanyahu states, to avoid getting involved in regional military conflicts.

The military commentator close to the Israeli intelligence services declined to address the value and quality of information provided by the Mossad to the American side that helped in the assassination of Soleimani, saying, "There is a long history of accumulated intelligence information in Israel that was transmitted to the relevant countries or organizations."