According to the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed intelligence officials and other sources briefed on the matter, the Israeli prime minister had received US President Donald Trump’s tacit consent to target Iranian air-defense system deployed at the Syrian Tiyas airfield. After their conversation, Netanyahu reportedly ordered an airstrike on the facility to curb Iranian forces from using new anti-aircraft battery against Israeli jets.
READ MORE: Israel Hints It Can Hit Iran's "Air Force" in Syria if It Retaliates for T-4
Following the alleged attack that claimed the lives of seven Iranian nationals, senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the strikes wouldn’t “go unanswered.” Meanwhile, Sky News Arabia reported, citing an IDF official that Israel would retaliate if Iran decided to strike back for the incident at the T-4 airbase.
On April 9, the SANA news agency reported, citing its own correspondent, that the Tiyas airbase in the province of Homs had been subjected to a missile attack. The media outlet suggested that the United States might have been behind the attack, however, the Pentagon had immediately denied any involvement in the incident.
Later, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that two Israeli F-15 fighter jets had hit Syria’s T-4 airfield in the Homs province from Lebanese territory, clarifying that five out of the eight strikes had been destroyed by Syrian air defenses. The Israeli authorities, however, have refrained from commenting on the matter.
READ MORE: Trump 'Delegated' Israelis to Attack Syrian T-4 Airbase – Syrian General
The attack occurred shortly after several media reported, citing militants on the ground, that the Syrian forces had dropped a chlorine bomb on civilians in the city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta. Damascus has strongly denied the claims, denouncing the entire incident as a false flag.
