The Israeli air force is reportedly training to strike “sensitive sites”
FILE PHOTO: Overview imagery of the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant covering 100,000 square meters, July 26, 2015 © DigitalGlobe via Getty Images
If Tehran responds to the Damascus embassy attack by bombing Israel, West Jerusalem will launch strikes against the Iranian nuclear program, a London-based Arabic outlet has reported citing an anonymous Western security official.
Two generals of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and several other officers were killed in the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus last week. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed that Israel would “receive a slap in the face” in return.
According to Elaph News, the Arabic-language online outlet operating from the UK, Israel has been training pilots to strike at “sensitive sites” in Iran, which might be those involved in Tehran’s nuclear program.
Elaph’s report was picked up by the tabloid Sun, which posted a list of possible Israeli targets, ranging from the Arak heavy-water reactor and the Bushehr nuclear power station to the Gachin uranium mine and the Natanz uranium enrichment facility. The Sun noted that an Israeli attack on any of them would mark an “unprecedented escalation” in the Middle East conflict.
The US “will remain supportive of Israel” and provide it with all the support, weapons and equipment needed for this mission, the source told Elaph. US President Joe Biden has assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington will stand by West Jerusalem “in all circumstances,” the source added.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have already canceled all leave and begun spoofing GPS signals, in preparation for a possible Iranian reprisal. Several US media outlets, citing American intelligence sources, have reported that Tehran intended to use ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones to strike Israeli infrastructure – once the Islamic holy month of Ramadan is over.
“Be certain, be sure, that the Iranian response to the targeting of the consulate in Damascus is definitely coming against Israel,” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech last Friday.
CNN, on the other hand, cited anonymous American spies who said Iran was “unlikely” to strike directly out of fear of US and Israeli retaliation, and would rely on various proxies in the region instead.
