Washington: The US is on high alert and is ready for a “significant” attack by Iran that may target US or Israeli installations in the area within the next week, as per a CNN official on Friday. One of Iran’s top commanders was killed in an Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Syria, prompting the planned attack.
According to senior US and Israeli officials, an Iranian attack is “inevitable,” the individual told CNN. The official said that as of Friday, neither government knew when or how Iran intended to retaliate. General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior leader of the Iranian Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike on the Iranian diplomatic facility in the capital of Syria.
Since Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, was assassinated in an American drone attack in 2020, this was the most well-publicized killing to date. According to an NBC News story, two representatives from US President Joe Biden’s cabinet have voiced concerns about Iranian reprisals within Israel, stating that the targets will mostly be military and intelligence targets rather than civilians. The officials added that the government is mulling up methods for countering any retaliation strikes by Iran, mentioning that it may use drones or land-attack cruise missiles.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi’s top advisor sent a strong message to the United States urging Washington to stay out of the conflict between Iran and Israel. President Raisi’s deputy chief of staff, Mohammad Jamshidi, wrote on X, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has sent a written warning to US leadership not to fall into Netanyahu’s trap for the US: Stay away so you won’t get hurt.” The US retaliated by requesting Iran to refrain from attacking US infrastructure.”
An official from the US State Department stated that Washington reacted to Mohammad Jamshidi’s warning by cautioning Iran “not to use this (the Syrian attack) as a pretext to attack US personnel and facilities.” In an interview with CNN, the official stated, “Iran officially stated that they received a message from them. In response, the US issued a warning to Iran not to exploit this as an excuse to strike US people or infrastructure. We didn’t inquire.
According to two officials cited by The New York Times, Iran has placed its military forces on “full high alert” amid rumours of a counterattack against Israel following the latter’s raid on the Islamic Republic’s consulate in Syria. According to the officials, Iran has decided to “directly attack Israel” in revenge for the airstrike that occurred in Syria and “to create deterrence”.
According to US defence officials, the military shot down two one-way attack drones close to the al Tanf base in southern Syria, as reported by NBC News. The military determined that the drones were close enough to threaten Israel or the US, even if they did not directly target American personnel stationed at the outpost. There haven’t been any attacks on US personnel in Syria or Iraq for nearly two months.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden spoke about the impending prospect of an Iranian counterattack on Thursday. The US and Israel have maintained “regular and continuous contact” since the two presidents’ call, according to an NBC News quote from a senior administration official.
