The US has recently issued a warning to Iran regarding potential attacks on Israel, saying that if Israel is attacked again, Washington may not be able to restrain its response, according to Axios, which cited an unnamed US official and a former Israeli official. The warning was reportedly delivered directly to Iran, although the Israeli source indicated it was communicated through Swiss intermediaries.
“We told the Iranians: We won’t be able to hold Israel back, and we won’t be able to make sure that the next attack will be calibrated and targeted as the previous one,” the US official was quoted as saying.
No official comments have been made by either Washington or Tehran in response to the report, which follows threats from Iran’s supreme leader of a "crushing response" to recent assaults on Iran and its allies. Iranian officials are increasingly signaling a possible retaliatory strike against Israel in light of Israel's October 26 attack on Iranian military sites, which Iran claims resulted in the deaths of at least five people.
This tension escalated after Iran's October 1 missile strike, where it fired around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, prompting widespread panic among the Israeli population. Although the missile attack caused limited damage and resulted in one Palestinian fatality in the West Bank, the situation remains volatile. Any further aggression from either side could potentially escalate into a broader regional conflict, especially amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Israel's military operations in Lebanon, just ahead of the US presidential election this Tuesday.
Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported Saturday that while US authorities have identified “initial movements” that indicate Iran is weighing how to respond, there aren’t yet clear indications regarding when or how it will happen.
Channel 12 news reported, meanwhile, that Israel’s security establishment was estimating that Iran could choose to act via its Shiite militias in Iraq and Yemen, rather than responding directly, in an attempt to lower the risk of another Israeli attack on Iranian soil. The outlet said senior Israeli security officials were threatening to respond strongly to any attack regardless of where it originates.
According to the Times of Israel, Arab media outlets published footage on Saturday indicating that an Israeli Navy missile boat had crossed the Suez Canal and was now in the Red Sea carrying an advanced launcher capable of firing the advanced LORA missile, which was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and has a 400-kilometer range.
This is in addition to US deployment in the region.
The US military operates throughout the Middle East, with some troops now manning a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery in Israel. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier likely is in the Arabian Sea, while Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday that more destroyers, fighter squadrons, tankers and B-52 long-range bombers would be coming to the region to deter Iran and its terror allies.
The US Central Command said early Sunday that the B-52 bombers had arrived in the region.
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei has threatened Israel and the US with “a crushing response” over attacks on Iran and its allies.
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