IAF Commander Says More Iranian Missiles Fired at Israel Than Reported

The Air Force has revised upward its count of missiles launched by Iran against Israel from Syrian territory from 20 to 32.

IAF Commander Maj.-Gen.Amikam Norkin said that “Iran launched 32 missiles and we intercepted 4 of them, and the rest fell outside Israeli territory,” in remarks at the IAF Conference in Herzilya on Tuesday, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Norkin also said that during the aerial exchanges in early May, Syria fired over 100 anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli jet fighters, and that Israel in turn destroyed the anti-aircraft batteries, in an operation dubbed “House of Cards.”

Israel had been on alert for an attack from the Iranian Quds force since mid-April in retaliation for a strike allegedly carried out by the IAF against an Iranian airbase in Syria which killed seven IRGC soldiers.

“We have been watching what the Iranians were doing around us,” Norkin said. “The Quds Forces set up at the T-4 base, which is some 250 kilometers from Israel. From this base they tried to attack using an armed drone that infiltrated Israel several months ago from our eastern border. After that incident, we identified that they were continuing to store weapons at the base, including aerial defense capabilities that we attacked over the past month.”

“In recent weeks, we realized Iran had sent missiles and long-range rockets to Syria, including (BM-27) Uragan launchers that we attacked north of Damascus,” Norkin said.

Another senior IAF officer at the conference was quoted by the Post as saying that Israeli planes have continued to strike targets in Syria even after “House of Cards.”

“We can assume that there have been strikes since the last events in Syria. We have maintained our freedom of action over Syria” he said.