American and Israeli sources reported, according to the “Axios” news website, that there are expectations of an imminent military escalation between Iran and Israel, with the possibility of an Iranian attack against Israel next Monday.
This information indicates that Iran may launch a retaliatory attack after increasing tensions between the two countries.
The sources explained that Iran and Hezbollah, Tehran’s Lebanese ally, may be coordinating a joint attack, or each may operate independently.
Although the final plans are not yet clear, officials believe that Iran and Hezbollah are still in the process of finalizing these plans and submitting them for approval at the political level.
The retaliatory attack is expected to be similar to the attack launched by Iran last April, which targeted southern Israel, especially the “Bnevatim” air force base. However, there is a possibility that the expected attack will be larger in scope and may include direct participation from Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The escalation comes in the wake of the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas, in Tehran, an event that led to new regional tensions, and was followed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut that killed Fuad Shukr, a military commander in Hezbollah.
Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for the assassinations and vowed revenge.
For his part, US President Joe Biden expressed his hope that Iran would back down from its threats of revenge, and Biden told reporters: “I hope so. I don’t know,” referring to the possibility of de-escalation.
In response to these threats, the US Department of Defense “the Pentagon” announced that it would deploy additional fighter jets and warships to the Middle East, in a move aimed at strengthening US defenses and maintaining stability in the tense region.
Algeria calls for the rapid delivery of aid to Gaza