NBC News on April 16 quoted four US officials saying they made their comments based on discussions between Washington and Tel Aviv before Iran attacked Israeli territory on the evening of April 13 with more than 300 missiles and aircraft.
The attack was carried out by Tehran in retaliation for the attack on its consulate in Syria on April 1, killing 7 officials of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
During the discussions, the Israeli side informed the US of their response scenarios in case Tehran attacked, from no military action to a direct attack on Iranian territory.
Israeli Army Commander Herzi Halevi (right) visited Nevatim Air Base on April 15.
Because Iran’s raid on the night of April 13 did not kill Israeli citizens or cause major damage to infrastructure, US officials believe that Israel will likely choose a soft response rather than targeting it.
One of such options is to attack targets related to Iran in Syrian territory.
According to these officials, Washington has no intention of participating in Tel Aviv’s military retaliation campaign, but expects Israel to inform the US of its action plan in advance, especially if it could have negative consequences for the US.
After Iran’s attack, Israel’s war cabinet met twice, but did not make a decision on the time and method of response, although all members agreed on the need to retaliate against the enemy.
US officials emphasized that Washington has not been informed of Tel Aviv’s final decision and whether Israel will change its response scenario after Iran’s attack.
The US and Israeli governments have not commented on the information.
Israeli anti-aircraft missile bullets in the sky on April 14.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said Tel Aviv `still considers all options`, while military commander Herzi Halevi stated that the country will definitely respond to Iran, but did not specify how or when it would take action.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported on April 15 that Tel Aviv’s war cabinet had decided to respond to Tehran `clearly and strongly`, with a response that could send the message that `Israel does not allow
However, Israel does not want its response to spark conflict in the Middle East or break the alliance that helped it resist Iran’s attack.
The US and many countries previously called on Israel to refrain from retaliating against Iran, emphasizing the goal of reducing tensions in the region.