Iran is preparing to attack Israel “imminently” with ballistic missiles, according to a senior US Government official, who warned this Tuesday of “serious consequences” if this were to happen. It would be a qualitative leap in the escalation of war that the Middle East has been experiencing since last October 7.
The American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Washington actively supports Israeli defense preparations, a day after Israel began a “limited” invasion of southern Lebanon with the stated goal of destroying the infrastructure that the Iranian-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah uses to attack northern Israel.
Immediately after Israel announced the beginning of this operation, the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, confirmed that he had spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, with whom he agrees on the need to destroy Hezbollah’s infrastructure. Austin has also declared Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security, and has warned Tehran against any temptation of a direct attack against that allied country, while tensions in the region are at their worst since the beginning of the war. Gaza a year ago.
“The Secretary and Minister Gallant addressed the serious consequences for Iran in the event that Iran decides to launch a direct military attack against Israel,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
As a deterrent measure to avoid a possible attack, the United States has announced the sending of several thousand more soldiers to the Middle East to reinforce the troops it already has stationed there. The deployment will bring the number of US military personnel deployed in the area to nearly 43,000. The Pentagon will also double the F-16, F-15 and F-22 fighter aircraft it has in the region. Furthermore, the aircraft carrier was already heading towards the Mediterranean Harry Truman,while the Abraham Lincoln has extended the mission that keeps him deployed in the Gulf of Oman by one month.
Iranian attack in April
Iran already launched a direct attack with more than 200 drones and missiles against Israel in April, although few projectiles reached their destination. With the help of the United States, Israeli forces shot down most of them in the air; The few that hit left no fatalities. That attack came in retaliation for the bombing of an Iranian consular headquarters in Damascus, the Syrian capital.
In a videotaped statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured that his country faces “serious challenges” in confronting Iran, but made no specific mention of a possible missile launch.
Israel is on high alert for a possible attack from Iran, although, for the moment, they have not detected direct threats, as the army acknowledged on Tuesday afternoon. The tension that is being experienced is reminiscent of that night of April 12 to 13, when Tehran carried out its attack with missiles and drones against Israel.
Military spokesman Daniel Hagari, in charge of announcing that no launches have been seen after the announcement made by the United States, has warned that “Iranian fire against the State of Israel will have consequences.” Gallant and the head of the Armed Forces, General Herzi Halevi, are, in any case, closely following events, according to ministerial sources.
The US Embassy in Israel has issued a “high-level alert to its employees in Israel and the Palestinian territories” following the rise in tension “urging them to return home and be prepared to enter a bomb shelter.” The order is similar to the one issued that April night.
The fear of a response to Israel from Iran hangs over the region, especially since the top leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniya, was assassinated in Tehran on July 31, in an operation that, as on other occasions, Israel has never recognized, although it bears his seal. Whether the ayatollah regime carries out its threat is something that has been put back on the table in a more plausible way in recent days following the attacks suffered by Hezbollah in Lebanon, including the assassination of its leader, Hasan Nasrallah.
