Tensions between Iran and Israel continue to ratchet up following the strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) canceling leave for troops and Tehran vowing \u2018revenge\u2019 for the attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018We [have been] dealing with Iran since the 7th of October, and [on] every single front possible \u2013 Houthis in Yemen, militias in Iraq, militias in Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas\u2026 so, Israel is in full readiness for any scenario,\u2019 retired Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi told Fox News Digital. \u2018It\u2019s not the first time that they threaten to retaliate after an alleged Israeli attack.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018I think that our Ministry of Defense is taking this seriously,\u2019 Avivi stressed. \u2018As the minister of defense said, OK, yes, we are more alert, more ready, but we are not doing anything dramatically different from what we were already doing anyway because of the war.\u2019<\/p>\n
Israel has not yet taken credit for a missile strike that hit Tehran\u2019s consulate in Damascus, Syria, on Monday, killing senior Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Reuters cited a Lebanese security source as the first to identify Israel as the responsible party, to which an Israeli military spokesperson responded, \u2018We do not comment on reports in the foreign media.\u2019<\/p>\n
However, the IDF has made several operational changes, such as canceling leave for any IDF personnel and calling up additional reservists to bolster the force\u2019s air defense systems on Israel\u2019s northern border, The Telegraph reported. Israel has also suffered widespread GPS disruptions on applications, with some users shown to be in Lebanon\u2019s capital Beirut, which Israeli outlet Haaretz reported as deliberate attempts to confuse Israeli drone threats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari reiterated the multifaceted conflict Israel is fighting, saying, \u2018We are in a multi-front war. We are looking not only at Hamas but all our enemies. We look at all fronts and all threats in order to be ready for any scenario.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Iran has tried to tie both Israel and the U.S. to the attack, but the U.S. has repeatedly stressed it had no involvement while seemingly confirming Israel was behind the attack. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters to refer to the Israelis \u2018to speak to their strike.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller during a briefing on Wednesday reiterated that \u2018we made very clear to the Iranians that we had no involvement in this strike, we didn\u2019t know about it at the time, and we warned them not to use this attack as a pretext to attack U.S. facilities or personnel.\u2019<\/p>\n
Iran vowed to take \u2018revenge\u2019 for the attack, and on Thursday Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned his Israeli counterparts that they would receive a \u2018slap in the face\u2019 for the \u2018heinous\u2019 attack,\u2019 saying ahead of Quds day that Israel will face its demise and collapse, according to The Times of India.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The repeated threats from Iran have led to concerns among U.S. military commanders that the Damascus strike could lead to renewed attacks on American bases in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. suffered 150 such attacks in the months following Oct. 7, but those attacks decreased and then stopped altogether after three American troops were killed in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Avivi noted that if Iran does decide to retaliate, it is more likely to occur through their various proxy militias, who carried out attacks against U.S. facilities and personnel in the region since Oct. 7. Additionally, the attack is more likely to hit diplomatic targets in other countries \u2013 Israeli embassies or consulates, similar to the target struck in Damascus. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Whether it\u2019s drone attacks or an attack from Hezbollah or in Yemen or the militias in Syria and Iraq \u2013 if they feel they have operational capability, they might try to do something, not necessarily in Israel,\u2019 Avivi said. \u2018This is also something that I\u2019m sure they are taking into account: Iranians don\u2019t rush. They consider things, seriously, for a long time.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018It doesn\u2019t necessarily have to be something in Israel,\u2019 he explained. \u2018They\u2019ve done that in the past and tried to assassinate Israelis outside of Israeli embassies. They might utilize again, the militias, and not necessarily directly. I\u2019m not sure how much Iran would like to really confront Israel directly. I\u2019m not sure it\u2019ll work in their favor.\u2019<\/p>\n
Matt McInnis, a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of War, told Fox News Digital that he saw \u2018legitimate concern\u2019 about Iran targeting diplomatic facilities. He raised concerns over how Iran uses diplomatic cover for its military operations, but noted that might change.<\/p>\n
\u2018Iran has used its embassies and diplomatic personnel to run military, paramilitary and terrorist activities for decades, however, undermining international legal principles,\u2019 McInnis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Iranian ambassadors in the Middle East are often Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders, for example,\u2019 he explained. \u2018Iran is likely re-evaluating whether diplomatic protocols can continue to hide and protect IRGC operations in the region.\u2019<\/p>\n
Part of that diplomatic cover includes trying to rally the United Nations to condemn Israel for the attack \u2013 despite the fact Israel has yet to take credit for it.<\/p>\n
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, issued a statement condemning the attack on Iran\u2019s \u2018diplomatic premises,\u2019 reaffirming the principle of inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018He also reminds all parties to respect all their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable,\u2019 Dujarric said. \u2018He also repeats his calls on all concerned to avoid attacks that could harm civilians and damage civilian infrastructure.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018The secretary-general further calls on all concerned to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further escalation,\u2019 Dujarric continued. \u2018He cautions that any miscalculation could lead to broader conflict in an already volatile region, with devastating consequences for civilians who are already seeing unprecedented suffering in Syria, Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the broader Middle East.\u2019<\/p>\n
Russia put forward a motion before an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that would have condemned the attack, but the U.S., Britain and France blocked the resolution. The trio of allies told the council that too many facts remain unclear, which prevented members from reaching a consensus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
McInnis argued that any success Iran finds in drawing support and condemnation over the attack is \u2018not likely to translate into much international support for Iranian action against Israel, the United States or anyone else they hold accountable for the strike.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018No major power wants further regional escalation,\u2019 McInnis said. \u2018We still should be taking this opportunity to stress that Iran\u2019s use of diplomatic facilities for coordinating military or terrorist operations is unacceptable.\u2019<\/p>\n
Fox News Digital\u2019s Greg Norman and Reuters contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
Tensions between Iran and Israel continue to ratchet up following the strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) canceling leave for troops and Tehran vowing \u2018revenge\u2019 for the attack.\u00a0 \u2018We [have been] dealing with Iran since the 7th of October, and [on] every single front possible \u2013 Houthis in <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":17630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17629","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}