Insider sources have revealed Iran is gearing up for a retaliatory attack on Israel today or tomorrow as the Supreme Leader “weighs the political risk”.
The impending strike would be in response to an April 1 attack on the Iranian mosque in Damascus, Syria, that killed seven Revolutionary Guards.
Since then, Iran has publicly threatened revenge but not taken action. However, an anonymous source reportedly briefed by the Iranian government claimed attack plans are being discussed.
An adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the Wall Street Journal: “The strike plans are in front of the Supreme Leader and he is still weighing the political risk.”
Another source familiar with the matter told the outlet that Israel is preparing for an Iranian attack on the north or south of the country as soon as Friday or Saturday.
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CBS News confirmed imminent nature of the revenge attack, with two sources claiming a major attack would come as soon as today, possibly involving more than 100 drones and dozens of missiles.
They said it would be hard for Israel to defend such a large-scale attack, but noted that Iran may opt for something smaller to avoid a full-scale war.
On Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei declared that Israel “must be punished and will be punished”. The same day, Joe Biden reinforced his “ironclad” support for Israel against an impeding “significant attack”.
Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the threats from Iran, claiming to be “preparing” for the “challenges” they may face.
He said: “We are in the middle of the war in Gaza which continues in full force … But we are also preparing for scenarios of challenges from other arenas.”
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The strike near the Iranian embassy in Syria completely destroyed a five-storey building, killing two generals of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a top commander in the Quds Force, the IRGC’s foreign operations branch, was killed in the attack.
Following the deadly attack, an adviser to Ayatollah Khamenei warned that all Israeli embassies are “no longer safe”, prompting Israel to put them all on high alert and warn officials to avoid going out in public.
The US embassy in Israel also restricted the movements of its diplomats “out of an abundance of caution”. They stopped staffers and their family members from travelling for personal reasons outside Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheeva “until further notice”.
Tyler Mitchell