Middle East Update: Iran’s Ominous Warning Over Alleged Israeli Strike | NEWSWEEK

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Avi Melamed’s insights quoted in “Middle East Update: Iran’s Ominous Warning Over Alleged Israeli Strike”, an article by Brendan Cole Senior News Reporter for NEWSWEEK.


Tehran has said the killing of its military advisers in an alleged Israeli missile strike in Syria will not go unpunished as tensions rise due to the war in Gaza and attacks by Iran and its proxies in the region.

Syrian authorities said the Mezzeh neighborhood of Damascus, the location of foreign embassies, including Iran’s, was targeted on Saturday morning by an Israeli-launched air attack from the Golan Heights.

The dead included Hojjatollah Omidvar whom Iran’s semi-official Student News Network described as a deputy chief of the Quds Force intelligence unit in Syria. It is one of Tehran’s five branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unit in charge of foreign operations.

The IRGC said the four others killed were military advisers Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, Saeed Karimi and Mohammad Amin Samadi, who were in the country at the invitation of the Syrian government.

On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani told reporters that the “usurping Zionist regime’s crimes against the Iranian government have never gone and won’t go unpunished,” semi-official state news agency Tasnim reported. Kanaani added that Tehran will respond in its own way and accused the Israeli government of acting in contradiction to peace.

Newsweek has contacted the Israeli government for comment about the threat made by Tehran. Israel has previously said it does not comment on international media reports about alleged attacks it conducts.

However, Kanaani’s warning comes as fear grows that the war between Israel and Iranian-backed Hamas, which followed the militants’ October 7 attack on southern Israel, will spill over throughout the region.

There have been Iranian attacks on Pakistan, Iraq and Syria, which one Middle East expert said showed a different approach by Tehran to projecting power in the region.

“These attacks raise interesting questions about Iran’s strategy and don’t align with its usual sophistication and calculation,” former Israeli Intelligence Official and regional analyst Avi Melamed told Newsweek in emailed comments. “In the immediate days following the strikes, they’ve all thus far shown to create more liability than benefit.”

Last week, Iran said it had struck militants in Pakistan, but Islamabad responded by attacking Iranian territory after an angry diplomatic response. Melamed noted it was significant that Islamabad’s action was “the first openly credited attack on Iran’s soil by a sovereign military in years.”

Iran also targeted Iraq in what Tehran said was aimed to taking out a spy base for Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Baghdad summoned Tehran’s ambassador in anger over the violation of national sovereignty.

“Iran’s attacks into these nations contributes to the growing international understanding that it is an aggressive, dangerous and unstable state using violence to achieve its objectives,” said Melamed.

“It also diverts attention from Gaza more towards Iran’s regional aggression both directly and through its proxies like the Houthis,” he added.

This month, the U.S. and the U.K. struck targets in Yemen after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels had launched attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. This prompted an angry response from Tehran, whose envoy to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, previously told Newsweek it amounted to a “declaration of war against the Yemeni people.”


Avi Melamed’s insights quoted in “Middle East Update: Iran’s Ominous Warning Over Alleged Israeli Strike”, an article by Brendan Cole Senior News Reporter for NEWSWEEK.

If you want to have a better understanding of the news and what really drives the unfolding events… Read the latest book of Avi Melamed,
INSIDE THE MIDDLE EAST | ENTERING A NEW ERA, available now >>>

Follow me on Twitter @AviMelamed; Facebook @InsideTheMiddleEast; for more Videos on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/AviMelamed

I can always be reached at Av*@Av********.com

Avi Melamed
Avi Melamedhttps://insidethemiddle-east.com
Avi Melamed is an expert on current affairs in the Arab & Muslim World and their impact on Israel & the Middle East. A former Israeli Intelligence Official & Senior Official on Arab Affairs, Fluent in Arabic, English, and Hebrew, he has held high-risk Government, Senior Advisory, Intelligence & Counter-Terrorist intelligence positions in Arab cities & communities - often in very sensitive times - on behalf of Israeli Government agencies. He is the Founder & CEO of Inside the Middle East | Intelligence Perspectives - an apolitical non-partisan curriculum using intelligence methodology to examine the Middle East. As an Author, Educator, Expert, and Strategic Intelligence Analyst, Avi provides Intelligence Analysis, Briefings, and Geopolitical Tours to diplomats, Israeli and foreign policymakers, global media outlets, and a wide variety of international businesses, organizations, and private clients on a range of Israel and Middle East Affairs.

JOIN THE HUB Newsletter

BUY THE BOOK

New book by Avi Melamed, acclaimed intelligence & geopolitical analyst - Inside the middle east | Entering a new era | published in 2022

MORE FROM ITME

Iran And Israel Are Already at War in Syria, But It Could Get Much Worse | NEWSWEEK

Iran And Israel Are Already at War in Syria, But It Could Get Much Worse | Avi Melamed’s insights quoted in this article by...

Could a Tropical Storm lead to a Public Storm in Gaza?

Could a Tropical Storm lead to a Public Storm in Gaza? Weather forecasts are forecasting a tropical storm accompanied by high winds and mostly heavy...

Marwan Issa hurt in Israeli strike, Gaza insiders reveal, but fate remains unclear | YNET

Marwan Issa hurt in Israeli strike, Gaza insiders reveal, but fate remains unclear. | Avi Melamed quoted in this article by Einav Halabi in...

Podcast | An Israeli Intelligence Expert Analyzes the Attacks on Israel (Ep: 18 – Avi Melamed) | Z3 – JCC PALO ALTO

Podcast | An Israeli Intelligence Expert Analyzes the Attacks on Israel (Ep: 18 - Avi Melamed) | Z3 - JCC PALO ALTO - Uploaded...