Iran general Hossein Dehghan slams intelligences' 'silence' on Israel bombs

A top military adviser to Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday rejected Israeli claims that it hit Iranian bases in Syria, warning that every Israeli military base can be a possible target for anti-Israeli groups.

The comments came after the Israeli military said their warplanes struck targets in Syria overnight after troops uncovered roadside bombs along the frontier in the Golan Heights. Gen. Hossein Dehghan said the Israelis had struck Syrian forces, not Iranians.

"We have no organised presence in Iraq or Syria," he asserted. "How can they say 'we hit a base belonging to Iran or Iran affiliates'?"

He continued: "The Syrians themselves are at those locations. They are defending their land and political sovereignty. Now Israel hits them, saying they are supporters of Iran? Is that acceptable?", he asked.

Israel said it struck military targets belonging to Iran's elite Quds force and the Syrian military, including "storage facilities, headquarters and military compounds," as well as Syrian anti-aircraft missile batteries.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Dehghan criticised what he described as international "silence in the face of actions of Israel in the region and the world", which he attributed to "opposition to us, to Iran".

Israel views Iran as its greatest threat and says it will not tolerate the establishment of a permanent Iranian military presence in Syria, especially near its borders.

Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country's civil war and has dispatched military advisers and allied militias to aid his forces.

(Image credit: AP)