'Israeli attack on Iran imminent, with US coordination'

Hezbollah was planning to launch 'Conquer the Galilee', which would have been an October 7, 2023 Hamas- like attack on Israeli civilians, only much worse.

- JOYEETA BASU

Israel's strike on Iran for the 1 October missile attack on Israeli territory is imminent and will happen with the coordination of the Americans, sources in Israel tell this newspaper. It is only 1 the scale of the attack that is being debated. It is likely to be spectacular-something no one in the region, or the world, will miss. But an attack there will be-"deadly, precise and above all surprising" as promised by the Benjamin Netanyahu government. On 1 October, around 180 ballistic missiles were launched by Iran, most of which were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome system, even though a couple of IDF airbases were hit, apart from some of Israel's major cities, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. There was no Israeli casualty in the attack.

"Everyone knows that there will be an attack. Even the Iranian regime knows that there will be an attack and they are cowering in fear," said a source from Israel. "It's psychological." "The coordination with the Americans is happening, because of the likely fallout. Israel will need the US help to contain the fallout" said the source, who added, "on Nasrallah there was no coordination. The US was not told about it.

But an attack on Iran may have ramifications, hence coordination is necessary." The exact nature of the coordination is not known, whether it will be confined to intelligence sharing, or will also involve targeted attacks by the Americans themselves.

The source added that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden have discussed the attack on Iran in their recent phone call, which was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the Democratic Party candidate for the US Presidential election to be held next month.

Broadly, on Israel's radar are Iran's military facilities, its nuclear installations, its economic interests including the energy sector, and Iran's symbols of government.