Israel says it detained Iranian Quds Force operatives in Syria

The Israeli army claimed on Friday that it had detained people affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force over the past weeks and months inside Syrian territory.

It claimed that the people belonged to cells from the Quds Force’s clandestine “Unit 840”, which the Israeli army alleged was planning to carry out attacks against Israel.

 “As part of a series of special operations carried out on Syrian territory in recent weeks, members of Iran’s Quds Force were captured and transferred for interrogation [inside Israel],” an Israeli army statement said.

The Israeli military said that it had detained two Unit 840 operatives in Syria, Zeidan al-Tawil and Muhammad al-Kuryan, in March and April.

It also said that other Syrians it had abducted, however, were working for Unit 840 without knowing who they were working for, and were motivated by financial gain.

Iran had a great deal of influence in Syria under the regime of deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad, with allied militias operating there and fighting alongside regime forces.

However, after Assad was deposed in December 2024 it lost its sway over the country.

Israel, which has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967, proceeded to occupy more Syrian territory after Assad’s fall and has carried out regular ground incursions and airstrikes in Syria, in many cases abducting Syrians and taking them back to Israel.

On Wednesday Israeli army chief of staff General Eyal Zamir admitted that Israel had carried out airstrikes near Homs, Latakia, and the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria.

The Israeli army also said that it had conducted over 300 “routine operations” in southern Syria, aimed at capturing weapons or abducting Syrians.