Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert confirmed, for the first time, that Israel was behind the assassination of Muhammad Suleiman, the chief military advisor to then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in 2008.
In addition to his work as Assad's chief assistant in military and intelligence affairs, Suleiman was responsible for building and securing the Syrian nuclear facility in Deir ez-Zor.
On August 1, 2008, Suleiman, a brigadier general in the Syrian army and a presidential advisor on arms procurement, was killed after being shot several times in the head during an outdoor dinner he was hosting at his home overlooking the sea in the coastal city of Tartous.
Although there have long been suspicions that Israel was behind the assassination, it did not confirm responsibility for it publicly, which led some to speculate that his killing may have been the result of an internal dispute.
But leaked documents from the US National Security Agency in 2015 revealed that members of the Israeli naval commando unit “Shayetet 13” infiltrated Suleiman’s house from the sea side, shot him in the back of his head, and then withdrew back to the sea without being detected.
According to an excerpt obtained by the Ynet news site yesterday, Wednesday, Olmert, who served as Prime Minister between 2006 and 2009, confirmed the content of the leaked intelligence documents in his new book published in Hebrew, which has a name inspired by the internal code that the Israeli army used to bomb the Syrian nuclear reactor in Deir ez-Zor in 2007, and can be roughly translated to “Arizona, all of us.”
Olmert wrote: “(Suleiman) and his guests were sitting on the balcony, and under the cover of darkness, the soldiers approached to a distance of 150 meters on either side of the balcony, and confirmed his identity.” He added: “Although there were quite a few people on the beach, no one noticed them.”
He continued: “When the order was issued, three bullets were fired at Suleiman, hitting the back of his head.” He added: “Immediately after that, the soldiers withdrew towards the coast, on their way to the boat that took them.”
Syria withheld news of Suleiman's assassination for four days after his killing, before pointing the finger at Israel.
The nuclear reactor in Deir ez-Zor was the target of an Israeli raid in September 2007, also during Olmert's term. Israel did not claim responsibility for the bombing at the time, partly to avoid retaliation from Damascus, before it officially acknowledged carrying out the raid in 2018.
Olmert wrote that Suleiman “had a hand in everything,” stressing his relationship with the Deir ez-Zor facility. He added: “A month before the attack, he received a new Mercedes car from Assad as a token of appreciation for his contribution to building the reactor.”
Olmert had also acknowledged, for the first time in 2024, Israel's responsibility for the killing of Imad Mughniyeh, a leader in Hezbollah and responsible for its foreign operations. He was killed in an explosion in Damascus in February 2008.
Mughniyeh was accused of involvement in a number of the most prominent attacks attributed to Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, including the bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992, and the bombing of the building of the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association “AMIA” in the Argentine capital in 1994, which resulted in the deaths of 85 people.
Renewed strikes between the United States and Iran brought the issue of civilian casualties back to the forefront, after Tehran announced the killing of 18 people in the recent American attacks, including four at a site where a wedding was taking place, while Washington denied targeting civilians, and the United Nations called on both parties to stop military operations.
The escalation came after weeks of a decline in the intensity of the fighting, as, on Tuesday night, US forces launched massive strikes on Iranian targets, and Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks on what it said were “American assets” in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq.
The confrontation had largely subsided since the exchange of strikes in July, without the talks achieving progress during that period, before military operations were renewed at the beginning of the week.
US President Donald Trump threatened to launch more strikes, and said on Wednesday that the United States is ready to attack Iran again “whenever we want,” after US forces targeted air defense systems, radars, naval facilities, and missile capabilities linked to the Revolutionary Guard.
An international call to stop the fighting
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed “deep concern” about the renewed exchange of fire, and “deep concern” about reports of civilian casualties, including in a strike that reportedly hit a wedding party in Iran.
Guterres' spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said that the Secretary-General "condemns all attacks against civilians," reminding all parties of the need to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality and taking precautions.
Guterres called for an “immediate cessation of military action,” and urged the parties to exercise restraint and refrain from steps or statements that would increase tension.
He warned that further escalation would have “devastating consequences for civilians, the wider region and beyond,” noting that airspace and vital navigation routes in the region had been severely damaged by the confrontation.
Guterres called on Washington and Tehran to return “urgently to diplomacy,” saying that a comprehensive and lasting settlement “can only be achieved through dialogue and negotiations.”
The Secretary-General met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian a few days ago in Kyrgyzstan.
Iranian toll
The Iranian authorities announced that 18 people were killed and 108 others were injured in the US strikes that targeted various areas of Iran on Tuesday night.
An official in the Ministry of Health had previously announced the same number of deaths, but raised the number of injured to 142, including 61 women and 44 people under the age of eighteen.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported that four people were killed and 67 others were injured at a wedding site near the coast of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Kohestak incident became a prominent focus in Iranian coverage of the attacks, with official media outlets close to the authorities publishing pictures and recordings of the site and the injured, coinciding with Iranian diplomatic moves to focus on civilian casualties.
The Red Crescent published a recording showing debris next to a damaged building, and a large hole in its roof, along with a collapsed tower.
Reuters was able to verify the recording site using satellite images, and said that the collapsed tower was located about 136 meters from the damaged building.
There is not yet an independent investigation result available that determines the intended target of the strike or the reason for the building being hit.
Washington denies targeting civilians
Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesman for the US Central Command (Centcom), said that the command is aware of the reports reported by Iranian government media regarding civilian casualties. He added: “The American army never targets civilians, unlike the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.”
Washington says that Tuesday's strikes targeted military installations of the Revolutionary Guard, including air defense systems, radars, mine-laying capabilities, communications sites, naval facilities, and missile platforms.
The Kohestak incident revived discussion about a previous strike that targeted a girls’ school in Minab on the first day of the war, which, according to the Iranian authorities, resulted in the deaths of 160 people.
The school was adjacent to the headquarters of the Naval Forces of the Revolutionary Guard.
The US Department of Defense has not yet announced the results of its investigation into the Minab strike. Two informed sources told Reuters that the incident may have resulted from the use of old targeting data, without an official result proving this.
Democratic members of Congress have called on the administration to publish the results of the investigation, but the report has not yet been sent to lawmakers.
Iranian message
The Iranian mission to the United Nations sent a letter to Guterres in which it accused the United States of deliberately targeting civilians and civilian targets in cities in southern Iran during Tuesday’s attacks.
Gholam Hossein Darzi, Ambassador and Deputy Representative of Iran to the United Nations, said that the killing of civilians, including children, represents a “flagrant violation” of international humanitarian law and a “war crime.”
The mission also accused US forces of targeting civilian facilities since the outbreak of war, including schools, hospitals, airports, residential areas, bridges, roads and railway facilities.
Casualties on both sides of the war
Before the last round, the Human Rights Activists News Agency “Hrana”, an independent Iranian organization based outside the country, counted the killing of 3,636 people as of April 7, including 1,701 civilians.
For its part, the United States announced that 18 soldiers were killed and more than 750 others were injured since the start of the war.
Harrana's figures also indicate that more than seven thousand people were killed during the Iranian authorities' campaign to suppress the protests that swept the country in December and January, before the American-Israeli attacks began on February 28. Iranian opposition groups abroad offer higher numbers.
The risks of widening the confrontation
The controversy over civilian casualties comes as the two sides exchange direct strikes and threaten more.
Four informed sources told Reuters that senior Trump advisers are seeking to avoid a widespread escalation before the midterm elections in November, to limit potential losses for Republicans, with the possibility of reconsidering tougher military options after the vote.
On the other hand, Tehran continues to threaten to target American forces and tighten restrictions on the movement of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, through which navigation has declined sharply since the beginning of the war.
About 20 percent of the world's oil supplies crossed the strait before the war, making the continued confrontation around it one of the most prominent sources of economic and security concern as the war enters its seventh month.
