Matty STERN / U.S. Embassy Jerusalem, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Jewish state of Israel has decided to hit the Islamic Republic of Iran “clearly and forcefully” and is already preparing its warplanes to carry out the strike, according to a report on Monday, April 15.
The decision comes after two war cabinet meetings in which leaders of Israel debated how to respond to a barrage of 350 suicide drones and missiles
Israel’s Channel 12 news carried the report which was widely picked up in local media.
The channel said the country’s air force which includes US-made F-16, F-15 and F-35 fighter jets is already gearing up to deliver a retaliatory counter-strike against the Islamic Republic of Iran, though no timeline was provided.
According to the report, the strike will be intended as a message that Israel “will not allow an attack of that magnitude against it to pass without a reaction.” but Israeli leaders also hope the response will not spark a wider war.
US President Joe Biden and leaders of the UK, France, Italy and Canada have urged Israel to exercise restraint, with Biden reportedly telling Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu that the US would not support a counter-attack.
Israel’s military chief Lt. Gen Herzi Halevi confirmed Monday that Iran’s actions “will be met with a response,” but he also declined to elaborate or indicate the timing.
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned his US counterpart Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that the Jewish home state has “no choice” but to retaliate against the rogue Islamic Republic after it launched hundreds of missiles and suicide drones into Israeli airspace on Saturday night, according to an Axios correspondent Barak Ravid.
At a White House press briefing Monday afternoon, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called Iran’s missile attack against Israel “a spectacular and embarrassing failure,” and said the key US ally is in “a far stronger strategic position” today than before the attack.
Kirby deferred questions about whether he expected the US to be briefed ahead of an Israeli military response.
“That is an Israeli decision to make. Whether and how they’ll respond to what Iran did on Saturday we’re going to leave squarely with them.”
