It’s been three weeks since a top Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Tehran – a deed for which the Iranian regime holds Israel responsible, and for which Iran has vowed to retaliate.
In April, after Israel had conducted a strike in Syria that killed two high ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran, for the first time, directly attacked Israel with a barrage of missiles and drones that were in large part neutralized by Israel’s defenses, with help from the United States and regional partners.
National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said that in recent weeks Iran has made some preparations, and an attack could come with little or no warning.
“We are obviously watching this very, very closely,” Advisor Kirby told reporters. “We have been messaging Iran through our counterparts and people that have direct diplomatic relations with Iran. And, of course, we have our own ways of doing that, through other vehicles ... Our messages have been consistent: We don’t want to see an escalation here, and we would like to prevent the outcome of [Iran’s] attacking.”
In addition to intense diplomacy, said Advisor Kirby, the United States has bolstered its security presence in the region, “with defense capabilities, ships, aircraft, other military capabilities to make sure that should Iran choose to go forward with some sort of attack on [Israel], that we’re ready for it – to defend ourselves, our facilities and our people, but also to defend Israel.”
Advisor Kirby noted that “the rhetoric coming out of Tehran has been pretty aggressive in terms of what their intent is. We have to take that seriously.”
Advisor Kirby said it’s not clear if Iran is going to launch an attack on Israel, or what such an attack might entail. “Which is why,” he said, “we’re working so hard on the diplomatic front to see if we can forestall it. And if we can’t, working so hard on the military front to make sure we’re ready for it and that Israel is ready for it.”
