AN
Israeli fighter jet has crashed after being attacked from the
Syrian air defences during attacks against “
Iranian targets” as Iran labels the Israelis "liars".
The deputy head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps declined to comment on reports that Israel had intercepted an Iranian drone launched from Syria on Saturday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Brigadier General Hossein Salami said: "We cannot confirm this report on the drone because Israelis are liars if Syrians confirm it, Iran will confirm it as well."
Israel responded to the attack on its aircraft by carrying out a "large scale attack" on Suria.
This comes at a time when Israel has been warning of the increased Iranian involvement along its border in Syria and Lebanon.
The Israeli military claimed it shot down the drone and struck Iranian targets after a “severe and irregular violation of Israeli sovereignty”.
The two pilots parachuted to safety before the crash in northern Israel.
Red alert sirens could be heard in areas of northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights due to Syrian anti-aircraft fire.
Israel’s chief military spokesman, Brigadier General Ronen Manelis, said: “This is a serious Iranian attack on Israeli territory. Iran is dragging the region into an adventure in which it doesn’t know how it will end.
“Whoever is responsible for this incident is the one who will pay the price.”
Citizens reported hearing a number of explosions and heavy aerial activity in the area near Israel's borders with Jordan and Syria.
This has been the most serious incident between Israel and Iran since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011.
It is the first time Israel has acknowledged attacking Iranian targets in Syria since the war began.
Israel has repeatedly warned in recent weeks against the presence of Iranian forces in neighbouring Syria.
The Israeli military "targeted the Iranian control systems in Syria that sent the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) into Israeli airspace. Massive Syrian anti-air fire, one F16 crashed in Israel, pilots safe," spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus tweeted.
Israel has long complained about the involvement of archenemy Iran, and Iranian proxy Hezbollah, in the Syria war.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has held meetings recently with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Iran’s influence in Syria and Lebanon.