SuleimaniNetanyahu
© AFP/CNBC.com/HO/KHAMENEI.IR/CNBC.comQuds Force Commander Major General Qassem Soleimani โ€ข Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
Tehran has mocked Israel's intensified efforts to root out Iranian presence in the region after the IDF struck targets in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq in one day, while threatening to continue attacks against Iran's 'accomplices'.

"These insane operations are absolutely last struggles of the Zionist Regime," Qassem Soleimani tweeted after the IDF accused the chief of Iran's Quds Force of personally devising a plot to strike Israel with a flock of 'killer drones.'

Tensions in the region heated up over the weekend after the IDF struck targets on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, in order to thwart what it called an imminent attack by Iranian proxies against the state of Israel. While Syria claims it downed most of the missiles, Israel called the pre-emptive strike a success, releasing a blurry video as a proof.

Hours later, Israel allegedly sent drones to hunt for Hezbollah targets in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. One surveillance UAV was downed by rock-throwing youths over Hezbollah's media office, while the second "suicide drone" exploded in the air.

Another attack against Iran-linked targets rocked the Iraqi Anbar province near the border with Syria on Sunday afternoon, when two unidentified UAVs targeted transport vehicles belonging to the Hezbollah faction known as Brigade 45. The strike, which the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) blamed on Israel, killed at least one Shiite fighter.

Tel Aviv, which admitted to the Syria raid but so far kept a tight lip about the strikes in Lebanon and Iraq, did make it crystal clear on Sunday that it will go out against any nation-state that supports Iran in the region.
"We won't tolerate attacks on Israel from any country in the area. Any country that allows its territory to be used for attacks against Israel will bear the consequences," said Netanyahu. "I stress: The state will bear the consequences."