Fears are growing that Iran could hit Israel with missiles or drones in the next few days in apparent retaliation for the Israeli bombing of an Iranian consular building in Damascus on 1 April, which killed a top Islamic Revolutionary Guards general and six other Guard officers.
A strike would mark a dangerously significant escalation in a long-simmering war, fought until now by proxy, or by strikes in third countries, such as Lebanon and Syria.
The Israeli military said it was fully prepared for an incoming strike and multiple international actors warned Tehran against a major assault on the Jewish state.
Israel is “on alert and highly prepared for various scenarios, and we are constantly assessing the situation,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at a press conference.
“We are ready for attack and defense using a variety of capabilities that the IDF has, and also ready with our strategic partners,” he said.
Israel would rely heavily on US-supplied weaponry in any response to an Iranian strike, a point that Benjamin Netanyahu made implicitly on Thursday, by standing in front of American-made F-15 fighters at the Tel Nof airbase in southern Israel to tell reporters: “Whoever harms us, we will harm them.”
The US said it had restricted its employees in Israel and their family members from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheba areas amid Iran’s threats “out of an abundance of caution.”
US in diplomatic push to avert Iran-Israel conflict
The Times of Israel reports that Israeli and US officials across various agencies have been in contact over the last few days to prepare for an attack they believe is imminent.
The US hopes that strong messages of solidarity and support for Israel from Joe Biden and the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, could still deter Tehran from seeking to hit a target in Israel.
Blinken spoke by phone to Chinese, Turkish, Saudi and European counterparts “to make clear that escalation is not in anyone’s interest and that countries should urge Iran not to escalate,” state department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Thursday.
Biden said on Wednesday that Israel could rely on “iron-clad” US backing, and Blinken called the Israeli defense minister, Yoav Gallant, to tell him that Washington would “stand with Israel against any threats by Iran and its proxies”.
US officials say much will depend on the specifics of any Iranian attack. The Guardian reports that if Israel intercepts incoming missiles or drones, or if they fall harmlessly wide of their mark, the Biden administration will appeal to Netanyahu’s government not to act rashly.
If any Iranian attack causes significant Israeli casualties either on Israeli soil or at any Israeli mission or institution abroad, however, Israel would be entitled to a forceful response in the eyes of the administration, according to the British paper.
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