Israel's response to Iran: Timing and targets
Shafaq News / Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the United States that Israel is ready to strike Iranian military targets, not nuclear or oil-related ones, The Washington Post reported on Monday, citing informed officials.
According to the newspaper's report, Netanyahu told Biden that he plans to target Iran’s military infrastructure. “The apparent softening of the prime minister’s stance factored into Biden’s decision to send a powerful missile defense system to Israel,” officials confirmed.
The Israeli prime minister’s office stated, “We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interest.”
In this context, an Israeli official pointed out, "Netanyahu will decide on Israel's response and will not wait for a green light from Washington." The report confirmed that the Israeli attack on Iran is set to be carried out before the US elections on November 5, “because a lack of action could be interpreted by Iran as a sign of weakness.”
In turn, Zohar Palti, former intelligence director for Israel's Mossad, stated that Netanyahu would have to balance Washington's calls for moderation with the public's demand in Israel for an overwhelming response.
“The Iranians have lost every measure of restraint that they used to have,” Palti said. “Without the US weapons, Israel cannot fight,” he acknowledged. “But it is Israel who takes the risks” and “knows how to do the job.”
In recent days, Netanyahu’s government has been threatening Iran with a "harsh, painful, and violent" response to the early-October attack on Israeli military bases and facilities.
The Iranian attack was in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh while he was in Tehran at the end of July, in an operation attributed to Israel. It was also in revenge for the killing of Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and a high-ranking Iranian military figure in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel recently admitted that Iranian missiles had struck military targets, causing material damage exceeding $50 million, though no human losses were disclosed.
