Israel mulls preemptive strike on Iran, holds high-level meet of security officials

Tel Aviv, Aug 5 (IANS) Israel is considering a preemptive strike on Iran amid reports of the latter preparing to attack it. Israeli media has reported that the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken has already communicated to the G7 allies on the possibility of Iran attacking Israel in the next 48 hours. He has, however, not communicated the exact timing of the attack as well as the volume of the attack.The media in the region has already reported that Israel is mulling the possibility of an advanced attack on Tehran if it gets a full-proof intelligence report on the possibility of an Iranian attack in the next 48 hours.It may be recalled that senior officials of the Israeli establishment had already said that Israel had deep penetration within Tehran and getting full-proof and air-tight information on Iranian moves is not that difficult for its undercover agents.Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu convened Israel’s security chiefs for a meeting on Sunday evening.The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Mossad head David Barnea and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.Sources in the Israel Defence establishment told IANS that the meeting was held amid preparations for anticipated attacks on Israel by Iran and its proxies — Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthis.The Hamas political chief and its public face, Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah’s military chief Fuad Shukr were assassinated in Tehran and Beirut last week.Iran has put the blame on Israel for Haniyeh’s death and has vowed to retaliate even though Israel has kept a studied silence on the murder of the high-profile Hamas leader. However, Israel had claimed responsibility for the assassination of Faud Shukr.Israel is expecting an onslaught from Iran in the coming days and is discussing a wide range of options as to how it can best respond to, or prevent, an anticipated assault.According to sources in Israel’s defence ministry, there is information of an imminent strike by Iran. However, it is still unsure of the volume of the attack and hence is waiting for a complete report on the same for further action.–IANSaal/dpb