Uddrag fra Zerohedge:
Summary:
- Middle East braces for Israeli ‘retaliation’ attack on Iran after Israel War Cabinet meets
- Israeli Air Force says it has completed ‘preparation’ and that an attack is ‘imminent’
- US officials tell WSJ they believe Israel will launch an anti-Iran operation today
- IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi: Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel “will be met with a response.”
- Netanyahu orders military: draw up a list of targets
- Several major airlines canceling flights to Tel Aviv and whole region.
- State Dept spox: “commitment to Israel’s security is sacrosanct”.
- G7 working on measures against Iran as China, Russia signal weekend attack won’t hurt relations with Tehran
- European allies urge Israel against military response
- Tehran warns that it’s ready to hit back harder.
- IRGC says it is willing to hit back from Iran for any new Israeli escalation, including then it attacks in Syria.
- Iran FM: we warned Washington that response in face of an Israeli attack will be “faster, stronger, and broader” (via AJ).
- US reiterates that it “does not seek conflict with Iran.”
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Update(1329ET): It appears things are moving fast, via Israel’s Channel 12 broadcaster, following the earlier conclusion of Israel’s War Cabinet meeting:
THE ISRAELI AIR FORCE HAS COMPLETED ITS PREPARATION FOR AN IMMINENT ATTACK AGAINST IRAN
The Times of Israel top headline has switched to: War cabinet decides to hit Iran back hard, hopes it won’t spark regional war
A host of airlines have canceled flights to the region, including the following:
Germany’s Lufthansa has suspended its regular flights to and from Tel Aviv, Erbil, and Amman, up to and including Monday. Flights to Beirut and Tehran will remain suspended until at least Thursday.
KLM cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv until Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Dutch arm of Air France says.
Britain’s easyJet on Sunday paused operations to and from Tel Aviv. The carrier said in an emailed statement to Reuters that it will temporarily pause operations to and from Tel Aviv until April 21.
Wizz Air says it had cancelled most of its flights to and from Tel Aviv, Saturday through Monday.
Finnair has suspended operations in Iranian airspace until further notice, which may cause longer flight times on flights from Doha. A spokesperson said the Finnish carrier will reroute over Egypt, resulting in delays of a “few minutes.”
IRGC threatens “new equation”:
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Update(1225ET): Israel is looking to “send a message” against Iran, but short of causing outright war and mass casualties, a top level official has told The Washington Post. During Monday’s Israel War Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu is reported to have requested defense leaders to draw up a list of targets.
According to Washington Post’s reporting:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the Israel Defense Forces to provide target options, according to an official familiar with high-level discussions, who said Israel is looking at options that would “send a message” but not cause casualties.
Those options include a potential strike on a facility in Tehran or a cyberattack, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
“Everybody agrees that Israel must respond,” the official said. “How to respond, when to respond, is the question.”
Israeli officials are now signaling to their US counterparts that they would like the White House’s backing and coordination for retaliation, however, so far President Biden has urged restraint. This weekend the president clearly said the US will not back an Israeli military attack on Iran, on fears it would spark a bigger war.
Biden has issued what appears an ambiguous statement, and Israel’s military says it is preparing:
- BIDEN: US COMMITTED TO ISRAEL’S SECURITY AND FOR CEASE-FIRE
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Update(1145ET): Israel’s war cabinet has issued a statement, reported in the country’s Channel 12 broadcaster, according to breaking reports:
Israel wants to embark on action against Iran coordinated with US, channel 12 says — Reuters
Channel 12 has cited top Israeli ministers to say that the military’s objective will be to “hurt Iran without causing all-out war,” according to news wires.
But the Biden administration has already said it will not back a retaliatory attack on Iran, amid fears of the situation spiraling into all-out regional war.
As for Tehran, it is warning that in the face of any Israeli assault it will hit back harder. According to BBC Iran correspondent Kasra Naji:
Iran’s IRGC commander: in new equation every time Israel attacks our interests, assets, personalities or citizens, we will hit back from our soil. Israel’s Def Minister: we won’t accept an equation in which Iran responds with a direct attack every time we strike targets in Syria.
Recall that before the Saturday night Iranian attack, Israel’s leadership vowed that a major response would happen if the Islamic Republic directly attacks Israel from its soil. Indeed that’s precisely what Iran did – it launched hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles directly from its territory.
Meanwhile in Iran:
Iran has lifted suspensions on domestic and international flights from its capital, Tehran, the state-run IRNA news agency reported, possibly signaling a return to stabilization for now.
It comes as Israel weighs its response to the strikes and world leaders call for restraint.
Global airlines faced ongoing disruptions to flights after Iran’s missile and drone attacks on Israel narrowed options for planes navigating between Europe and Asia.
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Update(1030ET): The Wall Street Journal issued a mid-morning report citing US officials who predict that Israel will quickly launch a military response on Iran, and that it’s expected to come as early as today…
U.S. and Western officials anticipate that Israel will quickly respond to Iran’s attacks, as soon as Monday, officials said. But the officials said they hoped both countries could come away with a sense of victory, giving them an off ramp that would limit escalatory moves.
Israel’s war cabinet convened again Monday (but there are contradictory reports), however it has as yet issued no clear decision (nothing communicated to the public at least) – and the question of whether the Netanyahu government has decided to pursue retribution on a military level remains open. It will likely be a ‘surprise’ attack – and the public will hear about it only when missiles are airborne.
The WSJ report is also full of caveats while presenting the alarming assessment of US officials:
Israel might also choose to defer action until a later point. One option is “‘we will respond, but not immediately.’ Iran will give Israel reason to respond and retaliate in future,” said Ehud Yaari, a fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “I think it’s very clear at this point that Israel would have to do something about Iran at some point, but not now,” he added.
Shortly on the heels of the WSJ quote being issued, Axios issued its own bombshell which points the way to an Israeli response to Tehran being imminent:
Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Sunday that Israel has no choice but to respond to the unprecedented missile and drone attack launched by Iran over the weekend, a U.S. official and another source briefed on the call told Axios.
