According to multiple US and Israeli officials, the Israeli regime planned on attacking Iran on Monday, however, backed out.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, speaks during the weekly cabinet meeting at the Security Ministry in “Tel Aviv”, occupied Palestine, January 7, 2024. (AP)
“Israel” backed out of conducting a strike against Iran on Monday night after authorities strongly considered the option, Axios reported, citing five Israeli and US sources.
The Israeli regime has vowed to conduct a strike against Iranian assets following Tehran’s retaliatory attack against the occupation on Saturday night. The Biden administration has warned “Israel” that taking such action would not serve the two allied governments’ interests, urging Israelis to “be careful” with any retaliation, unnamed US officials told Axios.
To avoid regional escalation, the White House has told “Israel” to frame the interception of Iranian aerial attack weapons as a victory, to save face value and refrain from escalatory measures.
“We are not sure why and how close it was to an actual attack,” a US official said in reference to the probable option to launch aggression against Iran. Another confirmed that “Israel” told the Biden administration that it had decided to wait rather than take action at the time being.
A third US official told Axios that a “small Israeli strike” inside Iran would likely trigger an Iranian retaliation. However, the Biden administration hopes that it would be of smaller scope than the retaliatory attack launched on Saturday, which saw hundreds of drones and missiles being launched from Iran toward Israeli military assets.
In fact, top Iranian officials, including the leader of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, have confirmed that Iran will launch retaliatory attacks if “Israel” decides to launch an aggression on Iran.
When questioned by journalists on if Iran would take such measures, Hajizadeh simply answered, “100%.”
Read more: Majority of Israelis want to de-escalate tensions after Iran strike
Israelis back out of attack on Iran “for operational reasons”
According to Axios, this is the second time that a decision to attack Iran has been postponed since Saturday. The war cabinet had decided to give the Israeli occupation forces’ command the go-ahead for an aggression on Iran but decided not to go through with the decision, citing “operational reasons.”
The US has urged Israeli officials to inform them and coordinate on future decisions on the matter, seeing that a bad turn of events would be detrimental to US interests in the region. As such, Israelis have informed US officials about the final decisions and discussions being held within the 5-member war cabinet meetings. An Israeli official also tells Axios that a decision to attack Iranian assets has already been made, saying that the “only question is when and how.”
Yet, such an event would reveal both the strategic and operational detriments that the occupation would face, as the last Iranian retaliatory attack required essential assistance from the US, British, French, Jordanian, and Saudi forces, Axios claims.
Read more: ‘Operation True Promise’ impacts regional order: Bloomberg
