JERUSALEM – Israel released details on Tuesday about what it described asan Iranian “air force” deployed in neighboring Syria, including civilianplanes suspected of transferring arms, a signal that these could beattacked should tensions with Tehran escalate.

Iran, along with Damascus and its big-power backer Russia, blamed Israelfor an April 9 air strike on a Syrian air base, T-4, that killed sevenIranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) members. Iranian officials havepromised unspecified reprisals.

Israeli media ran satellite images and a map of five Syrian air basesallegedly used to field Iranian drones or cargo aircraft, as well as thenames of three senior IRGC officers suspected of commanding relatedprojects, such as missile units.

The information came from the Israeli military, according to a wide rangeof television and radio stations and news websites. Israel’s militaryspokesman declined to comment.

However, an Israeli security official seemed to acknowledge the leak wassanctioned, telling Reuters that it provided details about “the IRGC airforce (which) the Israeli defense establishment sees as the entity thatwill try to attack Israel, based on Iranian threats to respond to thestrike on T-4.”