US, Israel Readying For Iran Strikes In Mid East

TEL AVIV: Senior Israeli Defense Force officers have held coordination talks with US Central Command in the last few days to tighten cooperation between the two militaries against the possibility of Iranian revenge in the region. Iranian government officials have been threatening since last Friday to respond to the assassination of nuclear scientist Muhsin Fahrizadeh. Iran has publicly blamed Israel for the killing.

The IDF went into the highest level of readiness to be ready for some of the 140.000 rockets possessed by Hezbollah in Lebanon or from areas in the Gulf region controlled by the Houthi rebels, Iran’s main proxy in this region.

The IDF does not release details on preparations for war, but Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow are all on highest alert.

Israeli experts estimate that Iran will have to retaliate. Uzi Rabi, one of Israel’s leading experts on Iran, told BD that Teheran will hesitate to perform a major attack while Trump is still in office because that may give Trump the excuse to strike Iran: “But they have to do something and that may come in the shape of a salvo of rockets on Israel from Lebanon or a terror act against an Israeli target in a foreign country.”

The Houthis have threatened Israel more than once and, while the distance between the two countries is great, the Iranian-backed group could carry out an attack involving cruise missiles and attack drones, similar to last September’s strikes against Saudi Arabia’s Aramco petroleum facility.

Rabi assesses that Iran may also use armed proxies in Iraq to perform terror acts against “western” targets there.

Israeli intelligence experts say that is why the U.S has put its forces in Iraq on high alert.