Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. Photo: wiki commons.

In a wide ranging interview published in the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper and the Qatari al-Watan newspaper over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi accused Israel of the recent assassination in Lebanon of  the head of the information branch of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces, Wissam al-Hasan.

“What will Syria benefit from killing him?” Salehi said according to Naharnet.com.

Salehi pointed out that al-Hassan uncovered 30 Israeli spy networks in Lebanon, “which indicates that Israel is solely the number one beneficiary from his assassination.”

Al-Hasan was assassinated on October 19 along with two others. He was known for his opposition to Bashar al-Assad and his assassination has rattled Lebanon.

“We might have different points of view over some issues, however, we don’t meddle in the Lebanese affairs,” Salehi reportedly said in the interview.

Asked about Hezbollah’s Iranian-made drone that was intercepted in Israel on October 6th, Salehi said that “it’s not a secret that Iran has obtained pilotless aircrafts that are more sophisticated than this one.”

Israel shot down the unarmed drone over the Negev desert after it entered the country’s airspace from the Mediterranean Sea.

Several days later, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his movement had sent the drone, saying the aircraft was “Iranian-built and assembled in Lebanon.”

Salehi also addressed the recent attack on an arms factory in Khartoum, Sudan. Israel has been blamed for the attack, though they have not commented on the matter.

“On their way to the attack, the Israeli planes flew over three countries, which I will not name, who knew about the operation,” Salehi reportedly said.

When asked about a possible Israeli strike on Iran, Salehi said: “If Israel wanted to attack us it would have, instead of making so much noise. Either way, if they believe they can, they’re more than welcome to try.”