debkafile Exclusive: Iranian delegation visits Ankara with a warning and bid for information on Israeli air force’s Sept. 6 attack in Syria

A high-ranking Iranian air force and intelligence delegation, led by a general, is reported by debkafile‘s intelligence sources to have landed secretly in the Turkish capital a few days ago. The visitors said Turkey’s government and army should be warned that Iran would not stand by again in the event of another strike against Syria, whether by Israel or the US, or both. Next time, Iran would step in, he said, without specifying in what form.
The message was taken to mean that even if Syria decided against reprisal, Iran would act instead.
According to our military sources, the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran empty-handed. The Turks refused to answer questions on the identity of the aircraft that struck a suspected nuclear target in Syria, their movements in Turkish airspace or their altitudes. The visitors were not allowed to view the fuel tanks and ammunition which fell on the Turkish side of its border with Syria. Neither were the Iranian officers permitted to visit the area where they fell.
debkafile‘s military sources report that Turkey has barred two zones in the area to the public as military sectors. The first is in the southern district of Kilis opposite the North Syrian town of Aleppo, where the fuel tanks were discovered. It is also northwest of the big Syrian missile manufacturing complex of al Safir, where western intelligence sources reported a big explosion in July.
The second zone is in the northern part of Hatay, formerly Alexandretta where Kilis and Hatay interconnect. Turkey has thus excluded the vicinity of the alleged Israeli air raid to outsiders.