Israel seeks direct US support for anti-Iran operations: Pentagon leaks

One of the leaked documents details several scenarios which would involve US-Israeli coordination against Iran in exchange for Israeli support for Ukraine

By News Desk; The Cradle

April 15, 2023

https://thecradle.co/article-view/23706/israel-seeks-direct-us-support-for-anti-iran-operations-pentagon-leaks

A series of recently leaked US intelligence documents reveal how Israel has increasingly requested Washington’s direct involvement in anti-Iran operations in the region, The Intercept reported on 14 April.

The series of classified documents have revealed details on a number of geopolitical issues, including US and NATO support for Ukraine and Iranian-Nicaraguan coordination against US influence in Latin America.

The Intercept report highlights the possibility of increased tension between Israel and Russia, given that the specific document cited contains plausible “scenarios” in which Israel would be prompted to directly provide lethal aid to Ukraine – something it has been reluctant to fully go ahead with over fear of escalation with Moscow.

The document states that this would be done in exchange for direct US support in anti-Iran activity.

A US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report, dated 28 February and marked ‘top secret,’ highlights four of these scenarios. In one scenario, it says: “Russia continues to allow Iranian advanced conventional weapons through Syria, prompting Israel to request expanded U.S. support for Israeli counter-Iran activities in exchange for lethal aid to Ukraine.”

“Israeli defense leaders are advocating for increased risk-taking to counter Iran, including proposing bilateral Israeli-U.S. operations,” the document states, providing a “background” to the scenario and highlighting circumstances that could set the stage for it.

Washington and Tel Aviv have recently been carrying out joint-drills aimed at simulating an attack against the Islamic Republic.

According to the DIA report, another scenario is that Russia “incurs casualties” from an Israeli attack on Syria and retaliates in coordination with Iran. It states in this context that Israel has “regularly requested” overflight support from the US Air Force to launch attacks against “Iranian interests in Syria.”

Israel has repeatedly  expressed concerns that directly supporting Ukraine could put its air force in Russia’s line of fire.

The same DIA report includes “a laundry list of Israeli weapons that might be transferred to the Ukrainians in the quid pro quo that the U.S. is pushing for, such as Israeli-built surface-to-air missile and anti-tank systems,” The Intercept says.

Israel would transfer these weapons to Ukraine “under increased US pressure or a perceived degradation in its ties to Russia,” it cites the intelligence document as saying.

For years, Israel has been carrying out illegal strikes in Syria against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets. Despite Iranian casualties at times, the strikes more often than not target the Syrian military.

These Israeli attacks have dramatically increased recently. Israel has bombed Syria almost a dozen times since the start of the new year, and seven times since the devastating earthquake ravaged the country in February.

As a result, Tehran has recently expressed a readiness and willingness to bolster Damascus’ air defenses to repel future assaults by Israel.

At the same time, groups linked to Iran in Syria have stepped up rocket and drone attacks against illegal US occupation bases in the country, prompting a pledge from the US to inflict heavy blows against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria.