Israel on red alert as Iran unleashes retaliation warning
After the recent attack in Damascus, Israel is bracing itself for an Iranian retaliation amid fresh fears that a full-blown regional conflict could erupt, The Guardian reported on April 4.
Israel has placed the IDF on “full alert” and has also called up dozens of reserves as Iran has vowed to hit back harshly.
On April 1, Israel bombed the Iranian embassy in Damascus, killing seven Revolutionary Guard fighters, two Iranian generals and 5 military advisers.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari claimed that he received a briefing from intelligence agencies that it wasn’t an official consulate but an operating ground for Al-Quds, a Revolutionary Guard service branch.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said, “We consider this aggression to have violated all diplomatic norms and international treaties. Benjamin Netanyahu has completely lost his mental balance due to the successive failures in Gaza and his failure to achieve his Zionist goals.”
Iran’s ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari said that the country’s response to the strike would be “at the same magnitude and harshness”.
Just days after the strike in the Syrian capital, Israel is now presenting itself as being on the defensive, calling up reservists to strengthen the country’s aerial defence due to fears of a potential Iranian missile and drone onslaught.
READ: Israel bombs Iranian embassy in Damascus
The Israeli military said in a statement, “In accordance with the situational assessment, it has been decided that leave will be temporarily paused for all IDF combat units. The IDF is at war and the deployment of forces is under continuous assessment according to requirements.”
A day after the embassy blast, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that attacks of this kind run the risk of escalating the situation in an already volatile region.
Given that there are Iranian proxies scattered around the region, it remains uncertain as to where potential attacks will come from and how an attack will come to fruition.
Since October, Hezbollah has been trading blows with Israeli forces at the Israel-Lebanon border on a near daily basis and fellow Iran-backed Yemeni rebels Houthis have been relentlessly attacking Israeli military and commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Both Hezbollah and the Houthi Movement have been attacking Israel in support Gaza-controlling militants Hamas as Israel continues its brutal rampage in the Palestinian enclave, killing over 33,000 people, a significant number of whom were women and children.
Undoubtedly waiting for an Iranian revenge attack, Israel’s military intelligence chief warned of many “complex days ahead”.
The Guardian
