Israeli security sources said today that Iran started leaving Syria and evacuating its bases there, after Tel Aviv intensified its raids and missile strikes on multiple targets throughout Syria, while 14 Iranian forces and Iraqi loyalist groups were killed in raids that targeted Monday night areas in Deir Al-Zour Governorate, east of the country.
And the official Israeli "Kan" channel quoted unnamed official sources in the Ministry of Defense as saying that Tehran started for the first time since entering Syria to reduce its forces and evacuate its bases there, against the backdrop of the continuous Israeli bombing in the recent period.
The same sources added that Israel will intensify the pressure on Iran until its exit from Syria completely.
The same channel quoted Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett as saying that Tel Aviv would not allow the establishment of an Iranian forward base in Syria.
In late February, the minister had previously told the Israeli Jerusalem Post that Tel Aviv aims to keep Iran out of Syria in the next 12 months.
| 5991942511001 | 34fb0f0f-e7ad-4be8-ae46-e3e561950b7d | c52509e5-2be1-4855-9fbe-0e81a91ab181 | |
| video |
New raids
In a related context, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday that at least 14 Iranian forces and pro-Iraqi groups were killed in raids targeting overnight locations in the Deir Ezzor Governorate, eastern Syria. The observatory suggested that the raids were Israeli, and affected the city of Al-Mayadeen and the towns of Al-Salihiya and Al-Quryah.
The Israeli Minister of Defense declined in a television interview today to declare Tel Aviv responsibility for the raids that took place in Deir Al-Zour, but stressed that Israel will not stop its operations in Syria before the departure of the Iranian forces.
On Monday, official Syrian media reported that air defenses thwarted an Israeli missile attack on a research center and military base in the northern province of Aleppo, in the second such raid in less than a week.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the missile attack targeted the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Syrian forces at defense factories in the city of Aleppo. The attack adds to at least 5 raids carried out by Israeli aircraft on targets in Syria last month, including an ammunition depot near the city of Homs in central Syria, in addition to targets in the governorates of Daraa and Quneitra in the south.