British Prime Minister Sunak pledged support for Israel and said Britain was taking action to protect itself after Tehran issued a “totally unacceptable” threat, and White House officials said the United States could participate in a strike against Iran if it attacks Israel.
Intelligence sources say Iran may be about to launch a major attack, raising fears of a devastating new war in the Middle East.
Israel is on high alert after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attacked the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, killing several military officials in the Syrian capital.
Israeli ministers warned this week that Tel Aviv would launch attacks against Iran in response.
The United States has moved to provide reassurance to its allies.Gen. Michael “Eric” Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, flew to Israel on Thursday to coordinate a response to the Iranian threat, after President Joe Biden pledged “ironclad” support despite Tensions rise There is a dispute between Washington and Tel Aviv over the war in Gaza.
Mr Sunak said Britain would also support Israel. “Threats from Iran are completely unacceptable and we, like the Americans, fully support Israel’s right to defend itself,” he said on Thursday.
“We have highlighted the significant risk Iran poses to regional security, we have always said we will support Israel’s ability to defend itself and we ourselves are taking action to ensure we can protect the UK from threats from Iran.”
A Biden administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the United States could be involved in a strike against Iran if Israel was attacked. “We do not rule out joint retaliatory strikes with Israel if Israel is attacked by Iran or its proxies,” they said. Al Jazeera.
Washington reportedly expects “a large-scale missile or drone attack by Iran or its proxies against military or government targets in Israel “in the coming days.” A Bloomberg Report Citing multiple U.S. intelligence sources, it said the attack was a matter of “when, not if.”
Michael Mulroy, a former senior Defense Department official and regional security analyst, said an attack on Israel could happen as early as Friday.
“Iran may wait until after Eid al-Fitr on April 12 to respond to the attack on its consulate in Damascus,” he told reporters. I. “Such a response could come from Iran itself, but is more likely to come from proxy forces in Syria and/or Lebanon – most likely in the form of missiles, rockets and drones. There could be a group trying to take down Israel’s defenses.”
He said such an attack would trigger a “significant response” from Israel and the United States, which could include an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The United States is also leading diplomatic efforts to mitigate the risk of escalation. White House special envoy for the Middle East Brett McGurk contacted the foreign ministries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iraq this week to urge them to encourage Tehran to retreat from the brink.
Germany’s foreign ministry on Thursday announced talks with Iran’s foreign ministry to ease tensions, while Britain is also engaging in secret diplomacy.
Former Middle East minister Alistair Burt said the danger of a large-scale war was rising but could still be avoided.
“The potential for regional conflict increased last week as Israel launched strikes against Iranian interests in Syria, but restrictions to prevent the conflict from expanding remain in place,” he said.
“No one in the region wants a potentially catastrophic regional war — Israel’s Gulf partners don’t want it, Israel’s Western allies don’t want it, and Israel and Iran remain hesitant to directly strike each other’s territory.”
Burt said Britain could play a useful role in easing tensions and promoting a resolution to the war in Gaza, which has escalated the conflict between Israel and Iran.
“The US is right to warn Iran publicly and Israel privately; the UK should continue to urge both sides to exercise restraint, support an end to the conflict in Gaza and commit to a political solution, which must be the only possible long-term solution to remove the risks to all .”
But Iranian sources said the decision to retaliate against Israel had already been made and the regime feared that it might lose deterrence if it did not respond to the Damascus bombings, which could be more dangerous.
Iranian officials cited middle east news media Amwaj It expected “limited but precise strikes” and said targeting in the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel but internationally recognized as Syrian territory, would pose a “small risk of escalation”.
Saeed Azimi, a journalist and political analyst based in Tehran, said the risk of a significant escalation remained high.
“I hope the back-channel talks between Iran and the United States bear fruit,” he told reporters I. “I think Iran’s response will be contained and limited. Somewhere around the Golan Heights…but if I turn out to be wrong and everything is at stake, a ticking time bomb will explode in the Middle East.”
Iran aims to maximize Israel’s insecurities and will try to launch attacks by surprise, said Dr. Abdulrasool Diefsalal, a United Nations arms trade researcher and regional security analyst.
“Tehran’s short-term goal is to keep Israel in constant fear of retaliation,” he said. “The timing may be different from U.S. assumptions.”
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