Western media outlets report that the US President Joe Biden and allied officials fear ‘significant’ strike within days in retaliation for Israeli bombing of consular building in Damascus.
The BBC reported on April 11 that Mr. Biden warned that Iran is threatening to launch a “significant attack” after Israel struck the Iranian consulate in Syria 10 days ago.
“We're going to do all we can to protect Israel's security,” he added.
The Guardian says the United States and allied officials fear that a strike is imminent and could come in the form of a direct missile launch from Iran, rather than an attack through a proxy like Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has reportedly vowed to respond in kind to such a direct strike, raising the prospect of a regional war, which US officials now believe is more likely than at any point since the beginning of the Gaza conflict on 7 October.
The Telegraph reports that speaking at a press conference in Washington, US President Biden said: “We also want to address the Iranian threat … they’re threatening to launch a significant attack in Israel.
“As I told Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad. Let me say it again, ironclad … all we can to protect Israel’s security.”
A Pentagon official on Wednesday night declined to comment on reports that the US was preparing to intercept Iranian missiles, and to join retaliatory strikes by Israel.
The official told The Telegraph the US government was “aware of Iran’s rhetoric” and that “both Israel and the US take it seriously”.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran's Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamene said the Israeli attack in Damascus was equivalent to an attack on Iran itself.
“When they attacked our consulate area, it was like they attacked our territory," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech.
“The evil regime must be punished, and it will be punished.”
IRNA reports that during a meeting with a group of Iranian officials and ambassadors of Islamic countries to Tehran on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on April 10 criticized some Islamic governments for assisting the Zionist regime, saying that their measure is a betrayal to both the Islamic world and themselves.
He said that Islamic governments do not fulfill their duties when it comes to the Palestinian issue, adding that some of them unfortunately help the Zionist regime militarily, financially, and politically.
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