Israel Considering ‘Preemptive Strike’ Against Iran

Israel is considering launching a “preemptive strike” on Iran as it’s awaiting a reprisal attack for the assassination of Hamas’s political chief in Iran.

According to Israeli media reports, Israel could launch an attack on Iran if it finds an Iranian strike is imminent. The idea was discussed on Sunday night in a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top military and intelligence officials.

Iranian officials have made clear they will respond to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil, and any Israeli preemptive strike would just escalate the situation even more.

US and Israeli officials believe an Iranian attack could happen any day, and it’s expected that Hezbollah will be involved in the operation as the Lebanese group vowed a response to an Israeli strike that killed one of its top commanders in Beirut. Iran’s allies in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen could also join the attack on Israel.

The US has deployed additional warships and warplanes to the Middle East for the purpose of “defending Israel,” making US military assets potential targets in a reprisal attack.

Back in April, Iran directly attacked Israel for the first time in response to the Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria. The US and some of its allies, including the UK and Jordan, helped defend Israel from the attack, intercepting many of the 300 missiles and drones that were fired at Israeli territory. US officials expect the reprisal attack for the Haniyeh killing to be bigger.