IDF chief hints at Israeli role in cyberattack on Iran port

IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi hinted at Israel’s role in a cyberattack on an Iranian port facility earlier this month, saying the military would continue to use “various military tools and specialized fighting techniques to harm the enemy.”

In his speech, at a ceremony marking a changing of commander of the IDF Home Front Command, Kohavi does not directly address a Washington Post report that Israel brought down the port’s systems, causing a total shutdown of the facility, on May 9, but seems to defend targeting a civilian port.

“An urban environment where the enemy has set up will not be a barricade for attack for us. The enemy chose to distribute missiles and rockets within villages, and turned them into military targets. And so, on the day the order [to go to war is given], the enemy will find that he has turned the home front into a fighting front, and we will attack him forcefully,” Kohavi says.

The army chief also appears to confirm that Israel was behind a series of recent airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria.

“Dozens of attacks that were carried out, including recently, have already proven the superiority of the IDF’s intelligence and firepower,” Kohavi says.

— Judah Ari Gross