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U.S. troops on high alert as general warns Iran likely to target Middle East bases | Avi Melamed’s insights quoted by Aurora Bosotti for the DAILY EXPRESS US.
Former Israeli intelligence operative Avi Melamed told Daily Express US that Monday’s attack on Iran’s consulate was a considerable “blow” to Tehran – and highlights major issues with Tehran’s intelligence network.
Melamed said: “This is the second successful strike against senior Iranian military leaders in Syria this year that the regime has blamed Israel for.
“A January airstrike killed IRGC Intelligence Chief Gen. Sadegh Omidzadeh who was assigned to the Guards’ expeditionary Quds Force in Syria and a handful of other senior intelligence deputies.”
He continued: “The attack and the intelligence that led to it contribute to a growing frustration and tensions between Iran and Syria, over who the potentially highly placed source that continues to evade discovery could be.
“In the wake of the January strike, rumors circulated that Syrian Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk had been replaced, though those rumors have been since proven unfounded.”
U.S. military personnel were targeted in 150 attacks during the first three months of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
U.S. troops have been warned they face a renewed threat of attacks by Iran‘s allies following a deadly strike on one of Tehran’s top military commanders on Monday.
Iran accused the United States of being complicit in the death of Quds forces commander Mohammad Raza Zahedi, who died in a suspected Israeli air raid on the Iranian consulate compound in Damascus, Syria.
Tehran vowed to retaliate on the attack, sparking concerns its proxies could resume their campaign of violence against U.S. bases in the Middle East.
American personnel were targeted an estimated 150 times since the start of the Israel–Hamas war in October but hostility slowed down after the death of three U.S. soldiers at Tower 22 in Jordan in January.
However, U.S. Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich warned Iran could push its allies into resuming hostilities against American infrastructure in response to the strike on Zahedi.
Grynkewich said: “I am concerned because of the Iranian rhetoric talking about the U.S., that there could be a risk to our forces.”
The Pentagon said the U.S. was not involved in the attack on the Iranian compound but has conceded evidence suggests Israel did indeed conduct the strike.
But the United States is closely tied to Israel’s military regardless.
The U.S. remains Israel’s indispensable ally and unstinting supplier of weapons, responsible for some 70 percent of Israeli weapon imports and an estimated 15 percent of Israel’s defense budget.
That includes providing the kind of advanced aircraft and munitions that appear to have been employed in the attack.
Tehran has pledged to retaliate swiftly and harshly, with regional analysts suggesting its main proxies – Hezbollah, the Islamic Resistance and the Houthis – will likely carry out any attack on Iran’s behalf.
Former Israeli intelligence operative Avi Melamed told Daily Express US that Monday’s attack on Iran’s consulate was a considerable “blow” to Tehran – and highlights major issues with Tehran’s intelligence network.
Melamed said: “This is the second successful strike against senior Iranian military leaders in Syria this year that the regime has blamed Israel for.
“A January airstrike killed IRGC Intelligence Chief Gen. Sadegh Omidzadeh who was assigned to the Guards’ expeditionary Quds Force in Syria and a handful of other senior intelligence deputies.”
He continued: “The attack and the intelligence that led to it contribute to a growing frustration and tensions between Iran and Syria, over who the potentially highly placed source that continues to evade discovery could be.
“In the wake of the January strike, rumors circulated that Syrian Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk had been replaced, though those rumors have been since proven unfounded.”
U.S. troops on high alert as general warns Iran likely to target Middle East bases | Avi Melamed’s insights quoted by Aurora Bosotti for the DAILY EXPRESS US.
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