Israeli media reported that Israel is considering carrying out a preemptive strike against Iran if it receives conclusive evidence that the latter is planning to attack it.
This came after a meeting held by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the heads of the Israeli security services on Sunday evening.
The meeting was attended by Defense Minister Yoav Galant, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Mossad Director David Barnea, and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, amid preparations for expected attacks on Israel by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
The assessment that Iran is likely to attack Israel in the coming days or weeks comes following the assassination of Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukr in Beirut, and Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, last week.
Iran has held Israel responsible for the assassination of Haniyeh, and has vowed to respond.
According to estimates, Israel is discussing a wide range of options on how best to respond to or prevent the expected attack.
During the meeting with Netanyahu, the option of striking Iran as a deterrent was discussed, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, although security officials stressed that such a move would only be approved if Israel received specific intelligence confirming that Tehran was about to launch an attack of its own.
The report said that Israel would need its own intelligence on the issue to match that of the US, and even if it did, it might choose to avoid going down the path of a preemptive strike.
Israel’s Channel 13 reported that “the assessment in Israel is that Iran is not coordinating its response with Hezbollah.”
The American news site Axios reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts from the G7 countries that Iran and Hezbollah could launch an attack on Israel on Monday, citing three sources familiar with the call.
The website indicated that Blinken said that it is not clear how Iran or Hezbollah will attack Israel, and that he does not know the exact date, but he hinted that the attacks may begin within the next 24 to 48 hours, i.e. early Monday.
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