Israel may be about to attack Iran, Tehran vows 'harsh' response
Iran launched a large-scale missile attack on Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the assassination of key figures from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Israel may retaliate against Iran in the coming days after a missile attack on the Jewish state, TASS news agency reported on October 17, according to Israeli officials quoted by The Washington Post.
They said no final decisions had been made on which targets to target in retaliation. However, CNN reported on October 16, citing sources, that the US expected Israel to strike before the US presidential election on November 5.
According to the source, Israel's attack plan is ready, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has assured Washington that the operation will be limited to military targets, avoiding oil and nuclear facilities.
On October 15, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared that Israel would give Iran a “precise and deadly response.”
Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the assassination of key figures from Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Tehran said 90% of the missiles hit their targets. Israel, meanwhile, said Iran had launched about 180 missiles at the country, most of which were intercepted.
In a related development, according to TASS, Tehran plans to respond "harshly" if Israel attacks Iranian facilities, and the US THAAD defense system will not be of any help. That is the content of the statement by Lieutenant General Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, the elite unit of the Iranian army).
"You know that when we say something, we will do it. If you attack any of our facilities in Iran or in the region, we will respond harshly," Mr. Salami said, sending a warning to Israel.
According to this commander, Iran can easily deal with the THAAD system and Israel should not depend on this system because Tehran knows well the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of that technology.
Recalling Operation True Promise-2 (a large-scale missile attack on Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the assassination of key leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah and IRGC), Mr. Salami emphasized that it was only a warning for Israel to "learn a lesson".
“On the issue of attacking Israel, we will not have any diplomatic exchanges,” the Iranian defense official added.
