Iran Prepares for Israel’s “Response”

Tehran announced that it had put its air and naval forces on “maximum alert” in preparation for possible Israeli “retaliation” following the massive missile and drone attack. It was carried out by Iran against the Jewish state on the night of Saturday to Sunday, April 14. There are fears of a very large-scale attack that could hit strategic sites not only inside Iran, but also Iran’s presence in neighboring Syria, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea. The Islamic Republic’s navy was ordered to escort Iranian merchant ships. Iran has also reportedly begun evacuating high-ranking personnel from facilities inside Syria, where the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps maintains a significant presence.

Meanwhile, a well-informed Egyptian source told the London-based Qatari newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that the United States “allegedly accepted” Israel’s plan for a military operation in Rafah, in southern Gaza, in exchange for a “limited” rather than large-scale attack on Iran in response to Tehran’s launching of drones and missiles. According to this source, “US President Joe Biden’s administration accepted the Israeli government’s previously submitted plan for the Rafah operation in exchange for not launching a large-scale attack on Iran.” According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, there is no confirmation from Israel yet.