Israel Considers Retaliatory Strike Against Iran.. Postpones Decision
Watan-The American site “Axios” revealed that Israel considered launching a retaliatory strike against Iran on Monday evening but ultimately decided to postpone it.
Israel had pledged to retaliate against the unprecedented rocket and drone attack launched by Iran.
Iran fired nearly 350 drones and missile strikes against Israel on April 13th in response to an Israeli airstrike earlier in the month on its embassy compound in Syria, which resulted in the killing of a senior Iranian general and others.
Officials said most of the drones and missiles were intercepted outside Israeli airspace by Israeli, American, British, French, and Jordanian forces.
American Warning
American officials warned that escalating with Iran wouldn’t serve American or Israeli interests and urged Israel to “exercise caution” in any retaliation.
Five Israeli and American sources confirmed the supposed timing of the attack, while an American official said, “We are not sure of the reason or how close the actual attack was.”
A second American official clarified that Israel informed the Biden administration on Monday that they decided to wait.
A third American official mentioned that a “small Israeli strike” inside Iran would likely prompt retaliatory action from Iran.
However, the Biden administration hopes for a more limited response than Iran’s attack on Israel on Saturday, aiming to end the exchange of attacks between the two sides.
Second Postponement of the Strike
This is the second time a decision regarding Israeli retaliation has been postponed. Israeli media confirmed that Tel Aviv had intended to respond directly to the Iranian strike on Saturday, but a call between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu succeeded in postponing it.
Sources said that the Israeli Security Cabinet discussed on Monday granting the Israeli military the green light to strike Iran.
However, later that night, a decision was made not to proceed with the operation “for operational reasons,” according to Israeli officials.
An American official stated that Israeli officials informed the Biden administration on Monday about the upcoming Security Cabinet meeting and said they would update the United States on the decisions.
After the Security Cabinet meeting, Israeli officials informed the Biden administration that the decision is to wait.
