Iran’s threats against Israel have increased since the beginning of April. While an attack could be imminent, both countries say they are ready to react.
The calm before the storm? Ten days after the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, Tehran has still not responded. But the threats from the Islamic Republic of Iran against the Jewish state are increasingly vehement. This Wednesday, April 10, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised that Israel, an “evil regime,” will be “punished.”
Something to worry the United States. According to information from BloombergAmerican intelligence anticipates an “imminent massive attack” by Iran and its allied groups, such as Hezbollah, against Israel.
The question is not whether an attack will take place, but when, assures a source to Bloomberg. Axiosanother media based in the United States, announces that Brett McGurk, an American diplomat, exchanged several phone calls with his counterparts in the Middle East to try to make de-escalation possible.
According to the same source, a general from the American Middle East Command (Centcom) is due to go to Israel this Thursday to take stock of the situation.
“We will do everything we can to protect Israel’s security”
This Wednesday, Joe Biden confirmed the United States’ concerns. And warned Tehran. Iran “threatens to launch a significant attack against Israel,” the American president said at a press conference.
“As I told Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel’s security, in the face of these threats from Iran and its allies, is unwavering,” he added.
“I repeat: unwavering. We will do everything we can to protect the security of Israel,” Joe Biden continued.
A sign that the situation was taking another turn: late this Wednesday, the German airline Lufthansa announced the suspension of its flights to and from Tehran “because of the current situation in the Middle East”.
At the same time, an Iranian press agency claimed that the airspace above Tehran was closed due to military exercises. Information denied by the same agency only a few minutes later. But the damage was done: several media and influential accounts on social networks repeated this false information.
Since the death of 16 people including seven officers and a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in an Israeli strike in Damascus, Iran has increased its verbal jousting against Israel. Latest example: an Iranian media outlet published fake images of Haifa airport targeted by missiles during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
For several days, the Jewish state has strengthened its defense systems, suspended the leave of its soldiers, called up reservists and prepared for “different scenarios”.
“We will know how to defend ourselves and we will act on the simple principle that whoever harms us or plans to harm us, we harm him too,” said Benjamin Netanyahu in early April. This Wednesday, the Israeli Foreign Minister was even clearer: “If Iran carries out an attack from its territory, Israel will respond and attack Iran”