Israeli general: Israel struck Syrian airbase to prevent consolidation of Iranian forces in the region
Retired Israeli Air Force commander Eitan Ben-Eliyahu indirectly acknowledged that Israeli fighters caused the air strike on the Tifor (T-4) Airbase in the Syrian province of Homs, as Washington had no reason to hide the fact of the attack and had too little time to prepare the strike.
In an interview with the newspaper Maariv, the general said that he had no doubt about the connection between "this attack and the use of poisonous substances in the city of Douma." He also added that Israel is seeking to prevent the consolidation of Iranian forces in the region.
“The [T-4] base that was struck was the same base from which an [Iranian] drone was launched two months ago …and was already subjected to a missile attack [on February 10],” noted Ben-Eliyahu.
An Iranian drone control point is located at the air base.
The General also noted that only the United States or Israel could have inflicted such a strike on the Syrian airbase, but that Washington would have "had no reason to hide the fact of a missile attack." In addition, according to Ben-Eliyahu, the Pentagon had too little time to prepare for such an attack.
On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that an air strike took place against the T-4 Syrian airbase was inflicted on April 9 by two Israeli Air Force F-15 fighters. Three missiles flew to the target, while five more were shot down.
Israel did not comment on these reports. France and the United States said they were not involved in the incident.