The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has decided on a retaliatory strike against Iran but has not yet chosen a time for it, knowledgeable sources told The Jerusalem Post.
According to them, the response options involve strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, as well as strikes on bases and launch sites for drones and ballistic missiles. Sanctions against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a large-scale cyberattack are also being considered.
According to the publication’s interlocutors, it is possible that the IDF will use a combination of these options. In a limited response, Israeli forces could focus on specific individuals among high-ranking IRGC officers and their allies. It is likely that the Israeli Air Force “will be deployed against an extremely important target”, The Jerusalem Post noted.
The day before, on April 16, Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi said during a visit to the 136th Battalion’s Arrow air defense battery that Israel is pursuing a “rear-guard policy” to “at least this Passover week to let citizens live almost as usual”. The statement could be a diversionary tactic to “put Tehran’s vigilance to sleep”, the publication said.
Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said the country had been subjected to more than 500 air attacks. About 120 ballistic missiles, 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles were fired at Israeli territory.
Iran first directly struck Israel on the night of April 14. The attack was in response to an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1. Several people were killed in the incident, including diplomats and military personnel, among them IRGC generals Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that the country would respond to Iran’s attack “with intelligence, not intuition”. “They need to be under stress, just as they made us under stress,” Netanyahu noted.
For its part, Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned that Tehran would launch a counterstrike within seconds if Israel attacked. According to Politico, the U.S. is trying to deter both sides from escalating.
