Yedioth Ahronoth: Iran halted a major military response to Israel at the last minute after an explicit American threat

Iran – The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Iran halted a major military response to Israel in the last moments after an American warning to Tehran that Washington is obligated to defend Israel.

The newspaper reported, citing its sources, “There is increasing evidence that Iran has been preparing in recent days for a retaliatory strike against Israel in response to the assassination of 7 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, including Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, Commander of the Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, and Brigadier General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, in a targeted bombing.” Iranian Consulate in Damascus.

Yedioth Ahronoth said that Iran “postponed at the last minute the implementation of the response or decided to change the nature of the operation as a result of an explicit warning from senior officials in the American administration.”

US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk delivered a message to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian through the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Iraq, stating that the Americans are obligated to defend Israel, including bombing targets inside Iran if Israel is attacked.

Republican US Senator Tom Cotton said, “Israel is threatened by an imminent attack by Iran.” “President Biden needs to immediately warn (Iranian officials) that the United States will support Israel to the end, and that joint American-Israeli retaliation for any attack will be swift and devastating.”

Yedioth Ahronoth says that the US-Israeli raids in response to the expected Iranian attack will focus on the oil industry in Iran, as well as dams, with the aim of causing major damage to its economy.

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi said that targeting the Iranian consulate in Damascus would “absolutely” not remain without a response.

In turn, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would strike Iran if the latter launched any attack.

Bloomberg quoted “intelligence sources” as saying that the United States and its allies believe that an Iranian response to the Israeli attack on the Tehran consulate in Damascus is “imminent.”

Source: Yedioth Ahronoth