Iran Threats to destroy US bases after israeli F16 fighter jet shot down
'WE WILL BRING HELL' Iran’s chilling threat to destroy US bases after Israeli F16 fighter jet shot down
The Islamic Republic said it had the power to destroy all American bases in the region if it so desired.
IRAN'S military leader has warned that the Islamic Republic will "open the gates of hell" over Israel after the Jewish state retaliated to one of its planes being shot down over Syria.
An Israeli F16 fighter crashed after coming under fire from Syrian air defences during attacks against "Iranian targets" in the war-torn country this morning.
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Lieutenant Commander of the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Brigadier General Hossein Salami threatened both the US and Israel
Lieutenant Commander of the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Brigadier General Hossein Salami made the comments earlier today
He also threatened the USA, claiming his country had the military power to destroy all American bases in the region.
Goading the Americans, he said they would be better "to leave the region before its defeat."
A spokesman for Iran's Supreme National Security Council said: "The era of Israeli strikes on Syria is over."
The exchange of fire was the most serious between arch foes Israel and Iran since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011.
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A search team sift through the wreckage of the downed fighter jet
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The F16 crashed after coming under fire from Syrian anti-aircraft weapons
It marked the first time Israel publicly acknowledged attacking what it identified as Iranian targets in Syria since the war began.
The US has reaffirmed it's backing for Israel with the Pentagon saying it fully supports the Jewish state's right to defend itself.
Pentagon spokesman Adrian Rankine-Galloway said: "The [U.S.] Department of Defense did not participate in this military operation.
"Israel is our closest security partner in the region and we fully support Israel's inherent right to defend itself against threats to its territory and its people."
The Israeli military issued a warning to Tehran, saying it was responsible for the drone that entered Israel.
Israel has repeatedly warned in recent weeks against the presence of Iranian forces in neighbouring Syria.
The Israeli pilots of the crashed F16 were reported alive.
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An Israeli F-16 fighter jet takes off (stock)
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Police said the F16 crashed in the Jezreel valley in northern Israel
The Israeli military "targeted the Iranian control systems in Syria that sent the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) into Israeli airspace. Massive Syrian anti-air fire, one F16 crashed in Israel, pilots safe," spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus tweeted.
According to a separate military statement, Israeli forces identified an "Iranian UAV" launched from Syria and intercepted it in Israeli airspace with a combat helicopter.
Police said the F16 crashed in the Jezreel valley in northern Israel.
Low flying in an F16 jet
"During the attack, multiple anti-aircraft missiles were fired at IAF (Israel Air Force) aircraft," the military statement read.
"The pilots of one of the aircraft abandoned as per procedure. The pilots landed in Israeli territory and were taken to the hospital for medical treatment."
Conricus meanwhile said that the army had confirmed "accurate hits of (the) Iranian UAV control facility" in Syria.
"Iran is responsible for this severe violation of Israeli sovereignty," Conricus said on Twitter.
Syria said its air defences repelled two Israeli raids on its military bases in the centre of the country, hitting more than one warplane during the first.
"At dawn, the Zionist enemy carried out a new aggression against one of our military bases in the centre of the country," state news agency SANA reported.
"Our air defences repelled it and hit more than one plane."
Israel has sought to avoid direct involvement in the Syrian war, but acknowledges carrying out dozens of air strikes there to stop what it says are advanced arms deliveries to Hezbollah.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/55447...argeting-iranian-drone-in-the-wartorn-country