Iran’s Revolutionary Guard may be behind downed drone

Assessments that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard forces are behind the launch of the drone into Israeli airspace on Thursday are gaining momentum among Israel’s political and security echelons, according to a Ynet report Saturday.

Iranian forces operate on Lebanese soil to aid Hezbollah’s drone capabilities, as well as provide support to the Assad regime, the report said.

Meanwhile, Washington requested that Israel show restraint to the violation of its airspace, a Western security official was quoted by the Lebanese paper An-Nahar as saying on Saturday.

Israel initially maintained that the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah sent the unmanned drone, downed by an IAF F-16 near the Haifa coastline on April 25.

The prime minister’s helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing as jets scrambled to identify and intercept the aircraft at about 2 p.m.

“I view with utmost gravity this attempt to violate our border. We will continue to do everything necessary to safeguard the security of Israel’s citizens,” Netanyahu said after the incident.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said it could not confirm that the drone was sent by Hezbollah, which has flown drones over Israel in the past, including last October.

But other military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to talk to the media, said they believed it was an Iranian-manufactured aircraft sent by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah denied any involvement, the group’s Al-Manar TV station reported.