Former Mossad director Yossi Cohen, in his new book, "The Sword of Freedom," recounts a personal visit to the Kremlin where he received permission from Russian President Vladimir Putin to launch Israeli attacks on Iranian arms shipments to Hezbollah and pro-Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq.

According to Cohen, the two countries' deputy chiefs of staff established a direct line of communication to coordinate each strike, and Russia gave an explicit green light to the operations.

"This permission to strike the interests of its partners in Iraq, as well as in Syria, was necessary because the Russians use S-300 and S-400 air defense systems, which can hit aircraft flying at altitudes of up to thirty kilometers," — writes Cohen.

He stressed that Russian assistance had been "essential" in disrupting Iranian logistics networks, as Moscow-controlled S-300 and S-400 systems in Syria could threaten the Israeli Air Force.

The Russian side has not yet commented on this information.