During a tour of the IDF Intelligence Directorate’s Targeting Center on Wednesday, Major General Shlomie Binder, who heads the Intelligence Directorate, stated that Israel’s current military actions are effectively shifting Iran’s status from a remote strategic issue to a direct and immediate concern.
“We struck the Quds Force very hard on the first night. This includes roughly 30 commanders; the names that were published are those of the more senior ones. But we’re talking about Chiefs of Staff and Air Force Commanders,” said Binder.
He went on to describe a recent Israeli operation that zeroed in on a hidden Iranian command post nestled in a mountainous region. “Some of the commanders managed to flee to a secondary location. Twelve hours later, we succeeded in striking the Chief of Staff of Khatam al-Anbiya, who had fled to the same secondary location in another mountain ridge in Tehran,” he noted.
Binder stressed the critical nature of sustained pursuit and pressure. “We need to hunt them down wherever they flee. And you are succeeding in turning Iran, as I said earlier, from some distant place, 1,500 kilometers from here, into an army that we know how to deal with, with the sense of it being a first-circle threat.”
He closed his remarks by reinforcing the strategic imperative behind the operation. “Your ability to deliver high-value results in the coming days is integral. We need to deliver, increase the pace, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. Because this is the kind of threat that, I emphasize, the State of Israel cannot tolerate. Period. That’s the reason we launched this campaign, and that’s the reason you are working hard.”
{Matzav.com Israel}