Iran intends to hit a target in Israel with missiles and drones. This is the scenario that official American sources reported to CBS News, alluding to Tehran's announced retaliation for the assassination of a general of the Revolutionary Guards with Monday's raid in Damascus, attributed to Israel.
According to sources cited by the broadcaster, the United States “has gathered information that Iran is planning a retaliatory attack that would include a 'swarm' of Shaheed drones and cruise missiles.” The information refers to “unknown times and objectives”, but “a proportional response to the Damascus attack would be to strike an Israeli diplomatic facility.”
The report suggests the attack could happen any time between now and the end of Ramadan next week. Uncertainty over drone and missile launch bases: operations could also start from Iraq or Syria, or from Iranian territory.
“The United States is on high alert and are actively preparing for a 'significant' attack within the next week by Iran in response to Monday's Israeli attack in Damascus that killed senior Iranian commanders,” a senior US administration official tells CNN The US essentially believes that an attack by Iran is “inevitable”.
Washington and Tel Aviv are working hard to be ready for any scenario, with the prospect that Iran's attack could target both Americans and Israelis. The scenario was one of the main topics of discussion in US President Joe Biden's phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. A direct attack against Israel could cause a rapid escalation of an already very delicate situation in the Middle East. Such an attack could lead to the war between Israel and Hamas escalating into a broader regional conflict.
Iran's threats
In the last few hours, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Hossein Salami warned that “no action” against the Islamic republic will go unanswered. “No act of any enemy against our sacred system will go unanswered. The art of the Iranian nation is to break the power of empires and demonstrate the victory of truth and faith,” he said in a speech on the occasion of Al -Quds, in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“Our brave men will punish the Zionist regime,” Salami warned, in a speech devoted largely to praising the resistance of the Palestinian people and attacking Israel and the United States. Salami stressed that American support for “Zionist crimes” has placed them at the “center of hatred”, not only of the Islamic world, but of much of the world's population, according to the Tasnim news agency.
Hezbollah: “Tehran will respond”
Peremptory messages also from Lebanon: ''There will certainly be an Iranian response to the attack on its consulate in Damascus,'' said Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. Saying he was ''proud of the relationship and alliance with Iran'', the Shiite leader stated that ''the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus is a crucial event that will have consequences''.
Nasrallah then remembered ''the martyr Mohammad Reza Zahedi'' who ''lived with us for many years and contributed enormously to the resistance in Lebanon''. ''The axis of resistance is about to achieve a great and historic victory,'' he added.
The US request to Iran
Meanwhile, the United States has reportedly asked Iran not to strike American targets in retaliation for the Damascus raid. Mohammad Jamshidi, number two on Iranian President Raisi's staff for political affairs, supported this in a tweet.
“In a written message, the Islamic Republic of Iran told the American leadership not to be drawn into the trap that Netanyahu has set for the United States: stay away so as not to get hurt,” the message reads. ''In exchange the United States asked not to strike American targets,'' Jamshidi wrote.
#Israel #Iran #prepare #attack #alarm
