As the Middle East braces for the possibility of a war between the US and Iran, Israel has warned Iran and Lebanon of a fierce response if the Jewish state comes under attack.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said an Iranian attack on Israel would be “perhaps the most serious mistake in their history”, and threatened an overwhelming response.
Israel expects the Iranian-backed Hizbullah militia will attack from Lebanon in the event of a US strike on Iran. In an indirect message to Lebanon, Israel said it would respond harshly to such an attack, targeting civilian infrastructure including Beirut airport, according to two senior Lebanese officials.
US president Donald Trump is expected to decide on his next move after being briefed by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are due to meet Iranian officials in Geneva on Thursday. However, many analysts believe the concessions Iran may be willing to offer regarding its nuclear programme may not be enough to prevent a war.
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Indirect talks last year did not bring any agreement, primarily due to friction over a US demand that Iran forgo uranium enrichment on its soil, which Washington views as a pathway to a nuclear bomb. Iran has denied seeking such weapons.
The US joined Israel in hitting Iranian nuclear sites last June, effectively curtailing Iran’s uranium enrichment. But Iran is still believed to possess stockpiles enriched previously, which Washington wants it to relinquish.
The US has amassed its biggest deployment of military power in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. US tankers, as well as cargo and refuelling aircraft, have arrived at Israeli airports and docks. The USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, is set to dock in Haifa in the coming days.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that Trump’s first option is always diplomacy, but said he is willing to use lethal force if necessary.
Tehran warned on Tuesday that a US attack would be a “real gamble” and even a limited strike would be met with a “ferocious” response.
According to CBS News, Trump is expressing “growing frustration” with what his advisers describe as the “limitations of military power” against Iran. According to officials involved in the discussions, Trump is pressing his advisers to present military options that would serve as a sufficiently severe “punishment” to shock the leadership in Tehran. He envisages this will force it back to the negotiating table on terms favourable to Washington, without being drawn into a broader regional war.
Trump, CBS reported, is seeking a “dramatic show of force” against Iran, but senior US military commanders have stressed to him that wars “rarely” unfold according to script and that even carefully calibrated strikes could produce unintended consequences.
Most Israeli analysts believe if Trump were to launch strikes on Iran, it would likely be a joint US-Israeli operation, even larger than the 12-day Israeli-led bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear and military sites last June.
A recent poll showed 59 per cent of Israelis support joining a potential US operation, with 29 per cent opposed.
