Israeli forces entered Syria to arrest a terror operative who was working with Iranian agents, the Israel Defense Forces disclosed on Sunday evening.
Soldiers from the elite Egoz commando unit arrested Ali Suleiman al-Aadi, a Syrian national living in the southern town of Saida. According to the IDF, al-Aadi gathered intelligence on Israeli forces by the border for future terror activity. The IDF said al-Aadi was under surveillance and is now in Israel for interrogation.
“The IDF will continue to work for the security of the borders and will not allow the establishment of the Iranian axis and the directing of hostile sabotage activity from southern Syria,” the army said.
The IDF also released footage of al-Aadi telling his interrogators how he was recruited by Iran.
“We sat together on the fence. [He] looked around like this and said, ‘Your area is good from a strategic point of view. We could profit from it,'” al-Aadi said.
The Iranian agent worked under the disguise of a Syrian military intelligence officer who was interested in the movements of Israeli border patrols.
“He said he was from military intelligence, but in fact, Iran was behind him. From what I understand he belongs to Iran,” al-Aadi said.
In recent days, Iranian officials have escalated their rhetoric about attacking after the Israeli Air Force struck military bases and air defence systems on October 26.
“The enemies, both the US and the Zionist regime (Israel), should know that they will definitely receive a teeth-breaking response for what they are doing against Iran and the resistance front,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini said on Saturday.
Middle East media reports suggest Iran’s next strike might take place before the US elections on Tuesday, and that Tehran’s proxy terror groups in Iraq and Yemen will participate.
The IDF’s announcement comes amid a visit by US Central Command’s Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla for talks with Israeli military leaders, and America’s deployment of B-52 Stratofortress bombers in the Middle East.
(WITH ANI INPUTS)
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