Warnings and Preparations for a Revenge Attack from Iran

August 2, 2024

by: Kate Norman

Friday, 2 August 2024 | Israel is bracing for an attack from Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini reportedly ordered a strike on the Jewish state following the assassination of Hamas’s political chief in Tehran on Wednesday, which was blamed on Israel.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council held a meeting on Wednesday following the predawn killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the Tuesday inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

Hours after Haniyeh was killed in a strike—which Hamas and Iran attributed to Jerusalem—the security council held an emergency meeting in which Khamenei ordered a revenge strike on Israel, the New York Times reported Wednesday, citing three unnamed Iranian officials, including two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Khamenei ordered the IRGC and the Iranian army to organize an attack as well as defense strategies in case Iran is struck again by Israel or the United States, according to the New York Times report.

Iran’s revenge could come in the form of drones and missiles targeting military sites around Tel Aviv and Haifa, the New York Times reported, citing the Iranian officials, who stressed that the attack would not target civilian sites.

In a less direct and more on-brand approach for Iran, the revenge attacks could also come from Iran’s proxies across the region, particularly in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, according to the New York Times report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government officials were reportedly instructed by the Shin Bet (Israeli internal security organization) not to participate in big events unless there is a protected space available nearby, Israel’s Channel 12 news reported.

Netanyahu and other government officials were also instructed to submit their travel plans to Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar for approval ahead of time, Channel 12 reported.

In the past, Iran has targeted Israeli and Jewish people abroad, although the Islamic regime took a more direct approach in April following an Israeli strike in Damascus that killed two Iranian generals.

Tehran responded with a rare direct attack by launching hundreds of drones and missiles toward Israel, most of which were intercepted by Israel and her allies in the region, including the US, the United Kingdom, France and some Arab states, the Times of Israel reported.

The Iranian supreme leader vowed revenge against Israel on Wednesday in a statement following the assassination of Haniyeh, saying that “the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime prepared the ground for harsh punishment for itself, and we consider it our duty to seek revenge for his blood as he was martyred in the territory of the Islamic Public of Iran.”

Israel did not respond to allegations of its involvement in the killing.

Prime Minister Netanyahu did, however, state Wednesday that Israel “recently struck crushing blows on each one” of what he called Iran’s “axis of evil”: Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah.

He mentioned the killing of Hamas chief-of-staff Muhammad Deif, whose death the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed yesterday. He also mentioned an Israeli strike on a Houthi port in Yemen last month and the targeted strike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah chief-of-staff Fu’ad Shukhr, the mastermind behind a rocket attack in Northern Israel that killed 12 children last week.

“Citizens of Israel, challenging days are before us,” Netanyahu said in a statement published by his office on Wednesday. “Since the attack in Beirut, we have heard threats from all sides.

“We are prepared for any scenario and we will stand united and determined against any threat,” the prime minister added. “Israel will exact a very heavy price for aggression against us from whatever quarter.”

The US State Department is also bracing for violence and issued a level 4 travel advisory warning against travel to Lebanon “due to rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.”

Delta and United Airlines canceled all flights to Israel from Wednesday until the end of the week, i24news reported, and United Airlines canceled its flights to Israel until August 6.

Posted on August 2, 2024

Source: (Bridges for Peace, August 2, 2024)

Photo Credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit/commons.wikimedia.org

Photo License: Wikimedia