The number of Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria has doubled since the current government took office at the end of last year, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said.
These aim to damage Iran's intelligence capabilities and prevent its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from becoming established near the border with Israel, Mr Gallant told a security conference on Monday.
Mr Gallant did not say how many strikes have been conducted this year, in what were rare comments on Israeli military activity in Syria.
“Since I took office, the number of Israeli strikes against the Iranians in Syria have doubled,” he said.
“As part of this campaign, we are working methodically to strike the Iranian intelligence capabilities in Syria.
"These strikes inflict significant damage to the attempts by the Revolutionary Guard to establish a foothold a few kilometres from the Israeli border.”
The security conference, organised by the Institute for Policy and Strategy of Reichman University, also heard from Israel's military chief, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, who warned on Tuesday that "negative events" in Iran's nuclear programme could "prompt action" from Israel.
Lt Gen Halevi also said that his country's options in the event of a confrontation with Iran "are good".
"We need to strengthen them more so that we can carry out a broad campaign against Iran,” he added.
His warnings came after The Associated Press said that a new nuclear facility in Iran's Zagros Mountains might be too deep for a special US bomb to penetrate.
The GBU-57 bunker-buster weapon, also known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, can penetrate 60 metres into the ground before detonation, according to the US military.
The US and Israel have previously said they would not allow Iran to create a nuclear weapon.
On Monday, Mr Gallant also accused Iran of converting civilian ships into military vessels armed with weapons such as drones, missiles and intelligence-gathering capabilities.
He said Tehran hopes to station these ships at long distances from Iran.
“Iran aims to expand its reach to the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and even the shores of the Mediterranean,” he said.
"This is a structured plan designed to threaten trade and flight routes – both military and civilian – and to create a permanent threat in the maritime arena.”
Mr Gallant's comments came the same day that the head of Israel's military intelligence said that an emboldened Hezbollah, a Lebanese terror organisation widely viewed as an Iranian proxy, risks sparking a regional conflict.
Aharon Haliva said chances of a serious escalation between Israel and Hezbollah "are not low".
In April, Israel accused a faction of the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas based in Lebanon of firing rockets into Israeli territory.
Israel responded with strikes in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
Iran is considered by Israel to be its greatest enemy, as it often calls for Israel's destruction and supports extremist groups across the region.
It also accuses Iran of trying to develop a nuclear bomb. Iran denies this, saying its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
Israeli officials have acknowledged carrying out hundreds of strikes against Iranian targets in Syria, where Iran has sent advisers and forces to assist President Bashar Assad in the country's 12-year civil war.
But officials have given few details over the years and almost never comment on specific operations.
The far-right Israeli coalition government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in December 2022.
Hardline ministers in Mr Netanyahu's coalition have previously voiced anger at the Prime Minister over what they perceive to be his weak response to security threats.
Earlier in May, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir boycotted a weekly cabinet meeting over "unacceptable" decisions and called on Mr Netanyahu to "shift to a fully right-wing policy".
Agencies contributed to this report
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
