War cabinet plots ‘painful’ strike against Iran that won’t rile America
ISRAEL is planning a “painful” strike on Iran that does not cause casualties, according to leaks from a meeting of its war cabinet.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly asked the Israel Defence Forces to draw up a list of targets it could hit that the US would not object to.
The considered response to Iran’s unprecedented 300-plus missile and drone attack at the weekend could be in the form of a precision strike on a facility in Tehran or a cyber attack, said the Washington Post.
The newspaper quoted an Israeli official, familiar with the discussions, as saying: “Everybody agrees Israel must respond. How to respond, when to respond, is the question.”
Israel’s Channel 12 news claimed its country’s war cabinet had agreed to strike back at Iran “clearly and forcefully” while adding that several options had been discussed that would be “painful” but unlikely to trigger a regional war and will not be blocked by the US.
President Joe Biden has told Mr Netanyahu that Washington would not support an Israeli counter-attack.
‘How to respond and when to respond is now the question’
Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Defence Minister, told his US counterpart yesterday that Israel has no choice but to respond to the attack, which was thwarted with help from the US and Britain.
Mr Netanyahu is caught between the more hawkish members of his cabinet and the voices of his moderate Allies who are calling for a cautious response.
One senior Israeli figure said the five-member war cabinet, which includes Mr Netanyahu, was toiling to come to a decision.
Nationalist figures in Israel are calling for an immediate military retaliation, despite fears from the international community that this could lead to a “catastrophic escalation” in a wider Middle East conflict.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s hawkish Minister of National Security, posted: “We need a crushing attack.”
And finance minister Bezalel Smotrich warned that if Israel “hesitates then we will put ourselves and our children in existential danger”.
But the international community in the West, led by the US and the UK, have repeatedly called for caution. Mr Biden said the US will not participate in any Israeli counter attacks, adding: “You got a win, take the win.”
Some 99% of the 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles fired by Iran were shot down with the aid of the US, UK, France and Jordan.
US National security spokesman John Kirby said: “The President has been clear.We don’t want to see this escalate. We’re not looking for a wider war with Iran.”
Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock called for calm while President Emmanuel Macron said France would do everything possible to avoid a regional conflict.
Both Germany and Jordan yesterday summoned their Iranian ambassadors following Iran’s attack on Israel on Saturday.
Jordan’s summoning followed what the country’s foreign minister called “offensive statements” by Iranian media after the kingdom’s interception of Iranian projectiles.
But Iran, meanwhile, again accused Israel of crossing “a red line that was unbearable” by striking the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1. It told Western leaders they should “appreciate its restraint” shown towards Israel.
General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, said of Saturday’s attack: “The mission is accomplished and the operation is over and we have no intentions of going further.”
But he warned that if Israel did “commit to any act against us, be it on our territory or in our compounds in Syria” then Iran’s “next operation will be larger”.
IDF spokesman Peter Lerner yesterday confirmed there would be retaliation from Israel but added that this could involve “a strike or no strike”. He said Israel’s military had submitted “a wide range of options” and that there are “a lot of different scenarios”’ on the table.
Mr Lerner said his government would “decide on the steps forward” within the coming days. He added: “Just because we were successful in intercepting the missiles, we shouldn’t underestimate what Iran did. We can’t take that lightly.”
Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official, admitted the war cabinet has many “complex calculations to make” and warned that if the country chooses not to act, it risks appearing weak to its enemies.
He added: “In Middle East geopolitics, perception is key, as is the projection of power and deterrence capacity.
“That being said the US has advocated for Israel not to launch a wide-scale attack on Iran and Israel has the opportunity to use that US priority to its advantage in pushing the US for the diplomatic support of its incursion into Rafah and dismantling of the Iranian proxies – Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Deploy
“Likely, these conversations have already started and it’s clear that following Iran’s attack, Israel has already mobilised additional reserve forces to deploy to Gaza.”
Israel said yesterday four soldiers were injured, one severely, in an explosion overnight in the “border area” to the north with Lebanon.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has frequently clashed with Israeli forces in the north, says its forces detonated explosive devices after Israeli soldiers crossed into Lebanese territory. This was not confirmed by Israel.