A former IDF Military Intelligence chief confirmed Monday that Israel "had a hand" in the January 2020 assassination of Iranian Quds Force Commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
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In an Israel Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center interview published last month, Maj. Gen. Tamir Hayman effectively confirmed foreign reports tying Israel to the American hit on one of the most powerful officers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was also a close confidant of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Hayman began by noting the role Israeli intelligence played in the US operation.
Soleimani's assassination "is an achievement because our main enemy is, to my mind, the Iranians. Two significant assassinations can be noted in my term. One is Qassem Soleimani. It is rare to locate someone so senior who is both the architect of the fighting force, the strategist, and the operator.
"The second assassination was that of Baha Abu Al-Atta in November 2019, who was a senior Islamic Jihad forces commander in the [Gaza] Strip, through quality intelligence."
Hayman noted Al-Atta "also maintained a strategy alongside impressive abilities to manage an operation on the ground. The measurement is according to the potential for damage, and Soleimani was a figure with great potential for damage to regional stability and was the locomotive of the Iranian train" steering that country's military establishment in the Middle East, he said.
As for Iran's establishment in the region, Hayman said, "We have carried out many assassinations and disruptions of money and weapons transfer routes, and the highlight of these efforts is the prevention of the Iranians' attempt to put down roots in Syria. We have succeeded in this."
Asked how Israel could prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb, Hayman said: "There is the possibility of a kinetic attack. At the same time, we can maintain a covert channel to try to reach an agreement, but there are large rifts between the two sides. The West and the US cannot return to the framework of the previous agreement because the reality has changed, and with it a series of violations by the Iranians."
In December 2020, NBC News reported Israeli intelligence had been "instrumental" to Soleimani's assassination.
Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force – the IRGC's elite black-ops arm – was killed in a US drone strike outside a Baghdad airport on Jan. 3. The hit further strained US-Iran ties, sparking a flurry of threats from both administrations and Iranian retaliatory actions on Iraqi soil.
Widely considered second only to Khamenei, Soleimani wielded immense power and influence in his position, and was a key figure in spreading and maintaining Iran's aspirations of regional hegemony through acts of terrorism.
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According to the report, informants at the Damascus international airport tipped off the CIA about the time Soleimani's plane took off for Baghdad and it was Israel that confirmed the information provided to the Americans.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Monday said Iran's precarious domestic situation offers an opportunity for the international community to pressure the regime in negotiations over its nuclear program.
Speaking at a meeting of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Gantz said, "Iran is not a leading power – its citizens are suffering as a result of the poor economic situation. Investments and development have been slashed by 50% in the last decade, and the country faces a variety of internal and external challenges. The Iranian regime is well-aware of its precarious situation, and as such, Iran is coming into negotiations without real bargaining chips."
It is both possible and necessary to put an end to Iran's "foot-dragging strategy," said Gantz, referring to the seventh round of negotiations in Vienna between Iran and the other signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Progress in the talks has reportedly stalled following Iranian demands for greater concessions.
"We are deepening international cooperation, and I am certain that soon, both overt and covert actions will be expanded, by a variety of means," said Gantz.
"At the same time, for the past year-and-a-half, we have been engaged in force buildup, procuring new means that will ensure Israel's security superiority in the region in the face of all threats," he noted
Gantz recently returned from a trip to Washington, where he held a series of meetings with US officials, including Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
JNS.org contributed to this report.
