TEL AVIV — Israel is preparing for an attack by Iran in the south or north of the country in the next 24 to 48 hours, according to a source familiar with the matter. This person was briefed by Iranian officials and believes, however, that no decision has yet been made, with discussions regarding attack plans still underway.
Iran has publicly threatened revenge for last week’s attack in Damascus, which Tehran says was an Israeli strike on a diplomatic building. Top Iranian military officials have been killed, including a leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force.
Earlier this week, US intelligence reported that an attack by Iran or its proxies on Israeli infrastructure was imminent. But a source indicates that it appears to be planned within the territory’s borders.
Washington intelligence services predict an Iranian response in the coming days, “potentially on Israeli territory”
A US official briefed on the situation said Thursday that Washington’s intelligence services were planning an Iranian response in the coming days, “potentially on Israeli territory”, rather than against the Jewish state’s interests abroad.
The same day, the US Embassy in Israel announced that US officials and their families will not be able to travel for personal reasons outside the center of the country, Jerusalem and Beersheba until further notice. order.
Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command in charge of operations in the Middle East, visited Israel on Thursday, Defense Department officials said.
We will harm anyone who wants to harm us. We are ready to meet all the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively
Benjamin Netanyahu
From an air base in the south of the country the same day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to respond to any attacks against Israel. “We will harm anyone who wants to harm us. We are ready to meet all the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively,” he said.
Syria also accused the Jewish state of carrying out the strike in Damascus, which killed General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the head of Iranian paramilitary operations in Syria and Lebanon, according to Iranian state newspapers and reports. American officials. Zahedi is the highest ranking Iranian army officer to be killed, since the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani by the Americans in January 2020, in Baghdad. At least six other Iranian militiamen died in the attack, according to the Revolutionary Guards.
According to an IDF spokesperson, intelligence shows that the affected building in Damascus was not diplomatic infrastructure, but was used by the Al-Quds forces and disguised as a civilian zone. Earlier this week, the Revolutionary Guards presented options for retaliating against Israeli interests to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to an adviser to the paramilitary force. Scenarios currently under discussion include a direct attack on Israel with sophisticated medium-range missiles, he said.
In recent hours, social media accounts associated with the Revolutionary Guards have published videos showing simulated attacks on Haifa airport and the Dimona nuclear power plant. In the past, an Iranian official has also claimed that Iran would strike Israel’s power plants and desalination plants if attacked.
Plans for the attack are in the hands of the Supreme Leader and he is still assessing the political risks
But Ayatollah Khamenei still has to make a decision. He worries about the setbacks of a direct attack, including the possibility that Israel will intercept the missiles and launch a massive response against Iranian strategic infrastructure. “The plans for the attack are in the hands of the Supreme Leader and he is still assessing the political risks,” assured the advisor.
Other scenarios include attacks carried out by Tehran’s proxies in Syria and Iraq, with Iran having already delivered drones in recent days, according to advisers to the Revolutionary Guards and the Syrian government.
According to them, Iran and its allies could also strike the Golan – a disputed territory annexed by Israel from Syria in 1981 – or even Gaza, in order to avoid an attack inside Israel’s internationally recognized territory. Another possibility would be to target Israeli embassies, specifically in Arab countries, in an effort to show them that having friendly ties with Tel Aviv can cost them, these people said.
At the same time, the international community is desperate to avoid escalation. This Thursday, Annalena Baerbock and David Cameron, the German and British foreign ministers, asked Iran, through their Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, not to attack Israel, British officials reported and Iranians.
“Several regional and European ministers called the Iranian foreign minister,” a spokesperson for the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York confirmed to the Wall Street Journal.
Translated from the original English version by Lola Ovarlez