Iran Would Attempt to Retaliate Against Israel if Struck by the U.S., Officials Assess
Iran is under military rule, with mass executions feared. A classified debate unfolds within Israel’s leadership over the regime’s fate; warnings to Hezbollah – and The New York Times’ The Daily?
Tensions in the Middle East are at a peak amid expectations that the Trump administration may carry out some form of attack against the Iranian regime, following the mass killing of protesters across Iran – despite the President’s explicit warnings to Tehran. In Israel, officials believe that if the United States carries out a substantial strike against Iran, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would likely order the Iranian military and the Revolutionary Guards to retaliate forcefully against Israeli targets. In such a scenario, one could only estimate Israel will respond – in coordination with the U.S.
Major General (res.) Tamir Hayman, former head of Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate and current director of the INSS, says that “there is already American action” underway in Iran. “In my assessment, the United States is currently conducting a very significant influence operation inside Iran,” he says. “The stream of reports emerging from within Iran – rumors, videos, unexplained events – suggests that many things are happening. It could be coincidence, or it could be something else. Influence operations mainly operate in the cyber domain and through local subversion. I believe such efforts exist.”
A number of foreign governments are urging their citizens to leave Iran immediately. Regional Middle Eastern media report that Israel has warned Hezbollah not to intervene should war break out. President Trump’s decision has apparently not been made yet, and could still go either way; just yesterday, Trump again mentioned the possibility of negotiations with the Islamic Republic. Israeli officials are warning that Tehran is attempting to buy time and has no intention of making meaningful concessions – on its nuclear program, its regional aggression, or internal reform.
