Israel holds back, Iran not seeking escalation

Israel’s military was poised to attack Iran this past week but aborted it twice according to reports, as Tehran’s top diplomat assured the United States it was not seeking escalation after attacking the Jewish state on Saturday.

Citing three unnamed Israeli sources, ABC News reported on Thursday that “Israel prepared for and then aborted retaliatory strikes against Iran on at least two nights this past week.”

Among the range of possible reactions considered by the Israeli war cabinet were options to attack Iranian proxies elsewhere in the region or to conduct a cyberattack, the sources told ABC.

Tehran has vowed to hit back if its arch-foe Israel responds to the Saturday attack, which was a retaliation for Israel’s air strike on Iran’s Damascus consulate building earlier this month that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members, including two generals.

Israel’s military said its Iron Dome intercepted all of the more than 300 drones and missiles that Iran launched targeting bases and that little damage were caused by the missiles.

Foreign Minister Hossein AmirAbdollahian, who is in New York to attend a United Nations Security Council meeting, said his country has “tried to tell the United States clearly” that Iran is “not looking for the expansion of tension in the region,” he said in a video posted by his ministry.

According to AmirAbdollahian, Iran communicated with Washington “before and after” launching its attack on Israel that left a girl severely wounded but caused little damage.