Iran's specific vows of vengeance
Analysis: A website with ties to the Islamic regime is threatening to assassinate three IDF officers, a threat with an added sense of menace.
Iran continues to insist that the case of the Quneitra targeted killings is not closed. The Iranian website "Mashark" threatened Wednesday to eliminate three Israeli army officers, providing names and photos - the head of the Home Front Command Major General Eyal Eisenberg; Golani Brigade Commander Colonel Ghassan Alian; and Colonel Yaniv Asor, who has been tapped to command the Bashan Division.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which spotted the threatening post, notes that the site is considered close to Iran's security circles. It is not clear if the site is a mouthpiece for the Revolutionary Guards or the Defense Ministry in Tehran, but it is clear that the site is stating the positions of the Iranian defense establishment.
In the immediate aftermath of the killing of seven senior Hezbollah and Iranian officials in Quneitra two weeks ago, an act attributed to Israel, the site threatened to assassinate the sons of Israeli politicians such as Ehud Olmert, Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the children of IDF commanders.
The site's most recent post includes details - some wrong – about the three IDF officers who are the current target for revenge. For example, the Iranians present Eisenberg as the head of operations, and Asor has not yet been appointed commander of the Bashan Division, but is described as such. It also claims that Alian insists on being called him "brother"; apparently the authors of the post made an effort to present themselves as experts in the affairs of the Golani Brigade.
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Israeli defense sources said that they are familiar with the site and its most recent post, adding that the threat is merely psychological warfare and that they do not attach great importance to it.
In general, the Iranian threat to Israel conducted on a number of levels. The first level is the remote threat of nuclear missiles; the second is the Iranian bases in Lebanon and Iran's proxies Hezbollah, Syria and Islamic Jihad, which are aimed at causing the daily erosion of Israeli society in economic, moral and military terms. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has several times used the phrase "ensure that the Jews are worried all the time." The third level is activity targeting Israeli and Jewish institutions around the world.
This latest threat on the website is intended to convey a message to Israel: "Perhaps Nasrallah announced in his speech that he has closed his account with you, but for us, the Iranians, the account is not closed."
The Israeli public is the target audience for this direct threat, and as such the site made every effort to write in Hebrew.
It is unclear why these three officers in particular were singled out for killing, but it is clear that this is a clearly personalized threat.
When you specify names, the threat seems more informed, more determined and more credible.
