ISRAEL was involved in the assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander General Qasem Soleimani in Iraq nearly two years ago, a former military intelligence chief has confirmed.

In an interview with Malam magazine, retired Israeli Major General Tamir Hayman described the killing as “an achievement, since our main enemy in my eyes are the Iranians.”

It is the first time that Tel Aviv has admitted playing a role in the attack on Gen Soleimani, who was killed by a drone attack at Baghdad international airport in January 2020.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Israel had shared three of his mobile phone numbers with Washington hours before the attack.

Israeli intelligence had allegedly been tracking Gen Soleimani’s movements alongside the US Joint Special Operations Command in Tel Aviv.

Maj-Gen Hayman described the killing as one “of two significant and important assassinations” during his term, the other being that of Islamic Jihad leader Baha Abu al-Ata in the Gaza Strip in 2019.

Iran has previously accused British security company G4S, which operates Baghdad airport, of complicity in the drone strike.

Tehran alleges that the assassination took place with German support, with the US air force’s Ramstein base believed to have been used to co-ordinate the attack.

Research also revealed in October that “it was probable” that the Menwith Hill electronic spying base in Britain had also played a part in Gen Soleimani’s killing.