Israeli security officials are furious with their counterparts in the United States following the publication of a New York Times report on Wednesday which quoted an intelligence official as saying that Israel confirmed to the US that it assassinated senior IRGC official Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodayari. Israel regularly updates Washington on security operations it carries out but it is understood that the information is completely classified. Israeli security officials told Ynet that they’re demanding that US officials provide an explanation for the leak which they said completely absolved the US of involvement in the operation, placing all responsibility on Israel. Israel already raised its security level alert at its missions worldwide in anticipation of Iranian attempts at retaliation and is now concerned that the official admission of Israel’s responsibility will prompt a spike of attacks against Israel. MK Ram Ben-Barak, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, told 103FM Radio that the leak damaged Israel’s trust in the US. “When trust is violated, it harms future cooperation,” he said. “I hope US officials investigate the leak and find its source.” Ben-Barak added that this isn’t the first leak from the US, saying that the bombing of the Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007 was leaked to the New York Times, which published a series of articles on the story based on quotes from unnamed US intelligence sources. The NYT report said that Israel briefed US officials on the assassination, informing them that it eliminated Khodayari to warn Iran about the continued activity of the Quds Forces’ Unit 840, a covert unit that is responsible for carrying out assassinations and abductions of Israeli and Western targets outside Iran. Khodayari was reportedly the deputy commander of Unit 840 and was involved in planning operations against Israelis and others, including US citizens, in Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, and South America. Iran has never publicly acknowledged the existence of the shadowy unit. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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