Israeli Media: Airstrike on Factory 'Where Iranians Operated' in Syria

Following a new airstrike attributed to Israel against a factory in Syria, while the Syrian Foreign Ministry has sent letters to the United Nations and the Security Council complaining about Israel, Israeli media claimed that Iranians were active at the mentioned factory. At the same time, a prominent Israeli general considered the timing of this attack in Syria with the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Tehran as an action carrying a message for Russia and Iran. According to reports, on Wednesday evening, Israeli fighter jets launched four missiles from Lebanese airspace, exploding a factory in the city of Homs in the Homs province of Syria. Syria emphasized that the targeted factory had a civilian nature and was involved in copper production. The Israeli army and government have remained silent regarding Wednesday night's attack, but according to the Jerusalem Post, Israel Katz, the country's Minister of Information, stated on Thursday that if Syria resorts to air defense, Israel is ready to respond. Katz's remarks were a reaction to reports that the Syrian army attempted to shoot down one of the Israeli fighter jets over Lebanon following the bombing of the Homs factory but failed. The Ynet website reported on Thursday that the new attack attributed to Israel coincided with Putin's visit to Tehran, where he met with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, and the topic of Syria was among the issues discussed in these meetings. General Amos Yadlin, former head of Israeli military intelligence, responded to Ynet's question about whether the timing of the attack on the Homs factory with Putin's presence in Tehran carried a message, stating that 'Iran and Russia are two key players in Syria, and the entity that carried out the attack likely wanted to send a message.' General Yadlin, who is also the head of a security studies think tank, mentioned that the day before Putin's visit to Tehran, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah met with Saleh al-Arouri, the second-in-command of Hamas, who had recently visited Tehran. Israel has recently expressed concern about the ties between Hezbollah and Hamas. Israeli Channel One claimed on Thursday evening that the sound of heavy explosions from the bombed factory in Homs was heard for hours afterward at the Lebanese border, and 'the intensity of the explosion could indicate that weapons and explosive materials were present at the mentioned factory.' This channel and several other Israeli media outlets claimed that the bombed factory had been a site of joint activity between Iranian state companies and Syrian private and state companies over the past decade. The Ynet news website reported that within the framework of trade agreements between Iran and Syria, Iranians were present at the mentioned factory. According to Ynet, among them were the car manufacturer Saipa, which is 48% state-owned, and Iran Khodro, which includes 117 Iranian companies and has been under sanctions for many years due to support for Iran's missile program, both of which had activities in the bombed industrial area of Syria. Ynet, based on the Intel Times information blog, reported that Saipa owns eighty percent of the SIVECO factory, a joint production facility with a private Syrian company owned by Samir Hamsho, which assembles the Iranian model of the South Korean car Kia. Samir Hamsho, a top Syrian businessman supporting Bashar al-Assad's government, was on the EU sanctions list until late December 2015 but was removed from it. According to Ynet, other Iranian factories, including those producing plastics and glass, are also active in the bombed Homs area, which, according to these claims, are used in security, aerospace, and cruise missile industries. Ynet reported that the metal factories established by Iran in Syria could provide a 'suitable cover' for transferring metals, engines, and electronic products, strengthening the infrastructure for missile production. General Yadlin told Ynet that Israel acts based on its 'red lines,' and 'as foreign sources have also said,' Israel has added a 'new red line' to its previous ones by attacking the Syrian missile production factory last month. General Yadlin stated that previously, Israel's red lines were to 'prevent Hezbollah from approaching the Israeli border from Syria; and to attack any transfer of advanced weapons such as precision missiles and Russian-made air defense equipment to Hezbollah.' General Yadlin tweeted following the Israeli airstrike attributed to Israel seven weeks ago against the military industries complex in Masyaf in Hama province, which was among the industries affiliated with the Syrian Military Industries Research Organization, stating that this factory was a site for producing chemical weapons and barrel bombs. Meanwhile, the Syrian Foreign Ministry on Thursday sent letters to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council demanding accountability and condemnation of the 'occupying regime' and taking 'immediate and decisive measures' to prevent the recurrence of these 'aggressions.' According to SANA, the Syrian state news agency, the Syrian Foreign Ministry wrote in its letters to Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, and Francois Delattre, the French ambassador who is the current President of the Security Council, that Israeli aggressions have intensified while Syria has achieved new military victories. The Syrian Foreign Ministry referred to ISIS and al-Nusra Front fighters as 'mercenaries' of Israel and stated that Israel has increased these aggressions to boost the morale of Takfiri terrorists. Syria also linked Wednesday night's attack to the one-hundredth anniversary of the 'Balfour Declaration,' which paved the way for the establishment of the State of Israel.