American and Israeli officials believe that Iran may strike Israeli territory on Monday, August 5, Axios reports, citing its sources, UNN writes.
Details
Three American and Israeli officials said they expect Iran to attack Israel as early as Monday.
The leaders of Iran and Hezbollah vowed to avenge the assassinations of Hezbollah's top military commander, Fouad Shukr, and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
U.S. officials expect Iran's response to follow the same pattern as the April 13 attack on Israel, but potentially on a larger scale, and may also involve Hezbollah in Lebanon.
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The Biden administration fears that it will be more difficult to mobilize the same international and regional coalition of countries that defended Israel against the previous Iranian attack, as Haniyeh's assassination took place in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas, which has sparked sharp anti-Israeli sentiment throughout the region.
According to Axios, it is unclear whether Iran and Hezbollah will conduct a coordinated attack or act separately.
They added that, in their opinion, both Iran and Hezbollah are still working to finalize their military plans and get them approved at the political level.
The U.S. official said the Biden administration wanted to announce the U.S. force buildup on Friday, when Iran and Hezbollah were still discussing what their retaliatory strike would look like, hoping the announcement would help deter them and influence their military plans.
"I hope so. I don't know," he said.