Israel: We Used F-35 Fighters to Attack Iranian Positions in Syria

On Tuesday, May 21, the commander of the Israeli Air Force revealed that Israel had used advanced F-35 fighters for offensive military operations earlier than the United States. According to General Amikam Norkin, Israel has attacked military positions of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Syria using these American-made fighters in two operations on different days in recent weeks. Speaking at the Herzliya military base to commanders of over twenty allied countries including the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK, France, and Germany, he claimed that Syria had fired over one hundred missiles at the F-35 fighters, but 'the Syrians were wasting their missiles.' He stated that this occurred during the F-35s' attack on Iranian forces in Syria. Israel is the only country in the world whose air force has been equipped with American-made vertical take-off stealth fighters for some time. In addition to the first squadron of these fighters, the number of Israeli Air Force squadrons equipped with these advanced bombers is set to increase with the arrival of dozens more fighters. In his speech, General Norkin showed images of the F-35s during one of the military operations against Iranian targets in Syria. These images were taken during flights over Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on the same date as one of Israel's attacks on the T-4 airbase in Homs province, Syria. Israel first bombed the T-4 base on February 10 of last year in response to Iran's action of sending a military drone into Israeli airspace. Following that, attacks on 'Iranian targets,' including the deployment centers of Iranian forces and their allies at the T-4 base, Aleppo, Hama, and al-Kisweh in the outskirts of Damascus, have been attributed to Israel. Several senior US officials, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, revealed earlier than Israel that the country was bombing positions linked to Iranian military personnel and their allies in Syria. Two weeks ago, Israel announced that Iran was planning to launch rockets from Syria into the Israeli Golan Heights as 'revenge' for the deaths of its personnel; in response, Israel conducted 'the largest airstrikes against Syria in 45 years.' After those attacks, Israel stated that 'Quds Force forces' fired twenty rockets; however, General Norkin said on Tuesday that that night, the Iranians had fired thirty-two rockets, all of which landed 'outside of Israel,' and four rockets that approached the border airspace were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system. Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, had previously claimed that 'on the missile night,' fifty-seven rockets were fired at Israel. According to the Israeli Air Force commander, his country bombed Iranian missiles and rockets with longer ranges and their launch platforms in northern Damascus after recently realizing that Iran had transferred them to Syria. General Norkin also mentioned that the F-35s were not used in the attacks two weeks ago, and their use was related to earlier attacks. He stated that the F-35 squadron has been deployed 'across the Middle East,' but did not provide further details on this matter. Amos Yadlin, the former head of Israeli military intelligence, told the Ynet news site that the candid remarks of the current Air Force commander about the start of Israel's use of F-35s for significant operations is 'a natural step against the consolidation of Iranian military presence in Syria.' Meanwhile, retired General Yadlin, who was also a former commander of the Israeli Air Force's operations staff, added that the deliberate release of images of the fighters in the skies over Beirut is 'a message for Hezbollah as well.' Israel has long emphasized that it will not tolerate Iranian military presence in Syria. However, despite an unknown number of casualties, Iran still claims that its presence in Syria is 'advisory' and based on an invitation from the 'legitimate government of Damascus.' The Sky News Arabic network claimed last week that fifty-seven Iranian-affiliated forces were killed in an explosion in Hama on Friday; however, this claim was not confirmed by other sources. Some Iranian news agencies on Monday quoted 'military sources' denying the presence of Iranian advisors killed in the Hama explosion and stated that Iranian military personnel are not present in the area.