THE ISRAELI Army has issued a direct warning to Iran by releasing images showing the latter country’s military base locations.

The satellite images, published by Fox News, pinpoint numerous Syrian military bases being used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards forces.

This appears to be Israel’s way of threatening Iran, by acknowledging that they know where Iran’s bases are and where they can drop bombs if tensions escalate.

There are fears that worsening tensions between the two countries could spark a dangerous new phase of the war in Syria involving other countries.

According to Fox, Iran’s air force presence is located in five airports in Syria, including Damascus International Airport and an addition airfield southeast of the capital.

Israeli intelligence now believes Iran is planning an attack in retaliation to a strike on an Iranian drone base in Syria earlier this month.

They believe Iran plans to build its own independent infrastructure in Syria for the purpose of striking Israel, the Times reports.

Israel has not publicly admitted to striking Iran last week, but the White House said Israel had told it to the attack before it took place.

Likewise an unnamed senior military official told New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman that the strike marked “the first time we attacked live Iranian targets, both facilities and people”.

“This is the first time we saw Iran do something against Israel — not by proxy,” the source said. “This opened a new period.”

While this was never confirmed officially, the Iranian government vowed to take revenge.

“The Zionist entity will sooner or later receive the necessary response and will regret its misdeeds,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi.

Tensions in the region remain high after the United States launched air strikes against Assad chemical weapons facilities last week.

The US and allies fired missiles into the Syrian capital in an hour-long strike aimed at chemical weapons operations on Saturday.

The bombardment was in retaliation to a suspected chemical attack on Douma, that the US President Donald Trump called an “evil and despicable attack” on Syrian civilians.

READ MORE: Trump’s air strikes on Syria sparks backlash

Israel has previously warned Iran that establishing bases in Syria that threaten the country will not be tolerated.

In February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to take action against his adversaries, after Israeli intelligence claimed to have spotted an Iranian drone approaching Israel’s airspace from Syria.

He said his country would defend itself at all costs against Tehran, warning Israel’s policy of self-defence against “any attempt to harm our sovereignty” was “absolutely clear”.

Israel and Iran have had a tense relationship since the latter’s Islamic revolution of 1979.

Since then, Syria has been one of Iran’s key allies.

When Syrians began protesting the al-Assad government in 2011, there were reports that the Iranian government was assisting the regime to quell the protests.

In mid-2013, Iran sent 4000 troops in to aid the al-Assad government forces, and from that point onward it continued to step up its support.

Israel, meanwhile, has remained relatively neutral in the conflict, and has mostly kept a low profile. However, it has long held concerns about Iran’s influence in the region.

The February confrontation marked the most serious clash between Iran and Israel since Syria’s civil war began seven years ago.

Both countries are key figures in the region, and there are fears an open conflict between them will risk dragging neighbouring Lebanon and other surrounding countries into a new war.