Iran Prepares To Attack Israel; Why US Is On High Alert

OB Bureau

April 6, 2024 11:06 am

Representaitonal image

New Delhi: As Iran prepares a response to a suspected Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria, it has asked the US to ‘step aside.’ Iran’s remarks come after an Israel airstrike hit their consulate in Damascus, killing at least seven Iranians, including two generals. While Israel has repeatedly targeted Iran-linked assets in Syria over the past few months, this was the first time an attack struck an Iranian diplomatic building, Bloomberg reported.

In a written message to Washington, Iran “warned the US not to get dragged into Netanyahu’s trap,” Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs, wrote on X, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The US should “step aside so that you don’t get hit.”

“In response, the US asked Iran not to hit American targets,” Jamshidi said.

CNN reported that the US is on high alert and is preparing for a “significant” response from Iran against Israeli or American targets in the region. The network cited an unnamed US official.

The Islamic Republic has said it will deliver a “slap” to Israel, its arch enemy. Still, it’s unclear when that would happen or whether Iran would try to attack Israel directly or through one of its proxy groups such as Hezbollah, based in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Israel has been on alert since then, cancelling home leave for combat troops, calling up reserves, and bolstering air defences. Its military scrambled navigational signals over Tel Aviv on Thursday to disrupt GPS-navigated drones or missiles that might be fired at the country.

Iran-Iraq conflict

The two countries have been at loggerheads ever since Iran’s last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown in 1979. Following the Islamic revolution, Iran’s leaders adopted an anti-Israel stance, aligning themselves with groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine. The new government in Iran, led by Islamic leader Ayatollah Khomeini started referring to Israel as the “Little Satan” to the US as the “Great Satan.”