The Iranian regime is proving to be a paper tiger as Israelis warn that strikes from Iran will cost the Islamic regime dearly
After last weeks take-out of top commanders in Damascus, Iranian officials trumpeted their intention to hit Israel directly and not rely on proxies. In response, Israel signaled that it will attack targets in Iran, according to an Arab report Monday.
Citing a “Western security official,” London-based Elaph News reported that Israel has conducted air force drills in recent days that include preparations to target Iranian nuclear facilities and other key infrastructure.
US intelligence sources told CNN that Iran is unlikely to attack Israel directly, fearing American and Israeli reprisal.
Wednesday Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz tweeted a clear threat, in English and in Farsi, hashtagging Iran’s supreme commander Khamenei, after the Islamic Republic’s leader threatened to “punish” Israel.
Katz said that if Iran launches an attacks from its soil then Israel will strike back inside Iran. “If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will react and attack in Iran ” he posted in Hebrew and in Farsi to his official account on social media platform X.
Instead of a direct strike, the Islamic Republic has resorted to urging proxies to launch simultaenous attacks in the coming days.
The Iranian schedule is slipping, too. Originally the attack was to take place last weekend. Now it appears to be planned after the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan. It could slip further.
The CNN report raised doubts about previous assessments from Washington and Jerusalem that an Iranian attack was “inevitable.”
Israel has been on high alert since a Damascus airstrike killed Iran’s top commander in Syria, Mohammad Reza Zahedi and six other members of the IRGC along with a Hezbollah officer.
The New York Times cited four unnamed Israeli officials as confirming that the country was behind the strike.
Last Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to respond to a prospective Iranian attack. “Iran has been acting against us for years — directly and via proxies. And, therefore, Israel acts against Iran and its proxies — defensively and offensively,” he said. Yesterday, addressing new recruits, he added taking on Iran to his list of war aims.
Both Iran and Hezbollah have vowed revenge for the strike. An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened Israeli embassies, telling Iran’s ISNA news agency on Sunday that “the embassies of the Zionist regime are no longer safe.”
In televised remarks Friday from his Beirut bunker, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said an Iranian response was coming. “Be certain, be sure, that the Iranian response to the targeting of the consulate in Damascus is definitely coming against Israel,” he said.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel was ready to respond to any attack by the Islamic Republic, and has “completed preparations for a response against any scenario that would develop against Iran.”
Israel is bracing for potential missile and drone attacks by Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen — all of which have been carried out amid the ongoing Gaza war — but the likelihood of a ballistic missile attacks directly from Iran, which Israel has not yet faced, appears to be dwindling. Israeli officials believe the country’s air defense systems can handle the threat.
Iran has reportedly also put its military forces on “full high alert” ahead of any expected strike. Tuesday overnight there were reports that the Iranians had filed a notification of plans to conduct a missile tested, playing with fire.
No doubt that will send our ijits, in the US, into a tizzy; every little thing accomplishes that, these days! Well, so be it. Personally, I think we should pack the lot of them up, and ship them to Iran, as a gift… to do with as they choose, while they get a 1st hand view of just exactly what it is they’re supporting.