Security officials said they are worried Iran might launch a drone or missile attack over the assassination of IRGC Colonel Hassan Sayad Khodayari.
Israel has bolstered its air defense batteries in northern Israel out of concern of a possible retaliatory attack by Iran after it blamed the Jewish State for the death of a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) colonel.
The defense establishment is concerned that Iran might take revenge on Israel by launching a missile or drone attack from Lebanon or Syria. According to KAN public broadcaster, various air defense systems and troops manning them have been placed on high alert.
The IDF did not comment on the report.
IRGC attacks on Israelis and Jews
The IRGC and its Quds Force have been for years involved in countless attacks targeting Israelis and Jews around the world and have also been involved in striking targets across the Middle East with its arsenal of combat drones.
Iran has launched numerous drones toward Israel, including a pair of drones that were downed in February by American fighter jets close to Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The two Shahed-136 drones were set to explode over Israel.
Iran has been launching drones and other unmanned aerial systems to Israel since 2018 and the increase of attempts by Tehran has placed the threats posed by such systems in the top five threats facing the Israel Air Force.
The IAF has admitted that identifying and intercepting hostile drones-be it drones belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza or Iranian drones — is challenging due to them being small and flying low to the ground.
IRGC Chief Hossein Salami vowed Monday to avenge the death of Col. Hassan Khodaei who was assassinated outside his Tehran home last week in an attack attributed to Israel. He was shot several times in his car by two individuals who fled on a motorcycle.
“The enemy had pursued him for years, from the White House all the way to Tel Aviv,” Salami said during a visit to Khodaei’s family.
Whomever the Zionists kill, ascends to a higher level because his murderers are the worst humans.
IRGC Chief Hossein Salami
Khodaei reportedly commanded the IRGC’s Quds Force’s Unit 840, a relatively secret unit that builds terror infrastructure and plans attacks against Western targets and opposition groups outside Iran.
He was also involved in planning attacks on Jews and Israelis worldwide.
The IRGC at the time called the assassination a “criminal terrorist act of the counter-revolution and elements related to global arrogance,” a term often used to refer to the US and Israel.
Also on Monday, Israel’s National Security Council issued a heightened travel warning for Israelis against traveling to Turkey on Monday due to fears of revenge.
Since the assassination, “there is an increased concern in the defense establishment that there will be Iranian attempts to harm Israelis around the world,” the agency said.
The warning statement also extended the heightened level of travel awareness to any countries bordering Iran including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey.
Israelis were told to increase their vigilance when traveling and to refrain from identifying themselves as Israelis while in public.