IDF says it’s on high alert for Iranian attack, as world warns Tehran of consequences
- April 12, 2024
Tensions surrounding a potential Iranian attack on Israel appeared to reach new heights Thursday as the Israeli military said it was fully prepared for an incoming strike and as multiple international actors warned Tehran against a major assault on the Jewish state.
Israel is “on alert and highly prepared for various scenarios, and we are constantly assessing the situation,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at a press conference.
“We are ready for attack and defense using a variety of capabilities that the IDF has, and also ready with our strategic partners,” he said, referring to the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) Gen. Michael Kurilla, who arrived in Israel on Thursday morning to hold an assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi on the ongoing security challenges in the region.
Meanwhile, the United States said it had restricted its employees in Israel and their family members from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheba areas amid Iran’s threats “out of an abundance of caution.”
Apparently seeking to lower the flames, Iranian sources told Reuters Thursday that Tehran has signaled to Washington it will respond in a way that aims to avoid major escalation and it will not act hastily.
In addition to the US, Israel’s other allies have also warned Iran against striking Israel, saying it could destabilize the region even further, after six months of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron told Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Thursday that France had warned Iran not to attack, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock spoke on the phone with her Iranian counterpart about “the tense situation in the Middle East,” the German foreign ministry said.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, meanwhile, called threats by Tehran “unacceptable,” and pledged that “we, like the Americans, fully support Israel’s right to defend itself against that.”
Following Sunak’s comments, British Foreign Minister David Cameron said he had made clear to his Iranian counterpart Amir-Abdollahian that Iran should not draw the Middle East into a wider conflict, following threats made by Iran toward Israel.
