Iran claimed that it asked US to “step aside” as it prepares to respond to a suspected Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria. Hezbollah, a proxy team of Iran also said that it is prepared for a war. Taking to X (formerly twitter), Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affair, Mohammed Jamshidi, said that in a written message, Iran “warned the US not to get dragged into Netanyahu”s trap”, and the US should “step aside so that you don”t get hit”.
He said that US asked Iran not to hit American targets, in response. Washington hasn’t responded to the alleged written message from Iran, said media report. According to CNN, America is on high alert an dis preparing for significant response from Iran.
Citing two unnamed US officials, NBC said that Biden administration is concerned about any attack that could happen inside Israel, specifically against “military or intelligence targets, rather than civilians”. As per Bloomberg, the Biden administration took the unusual path of communicating directly with Iran saying that Washington was not aware that the strike on Damascus would happen. The report suggest that US is trying to prevent its forces in the Middle East being attacked.
Iran said that it will deliver a “slap” to Israel. When or how Iran would attack is not clarified yet. On Monday, an Israeli air strike hit Iranian consulate in Damascus, and killed at least seven Iranians which also included two generals. Israel has been targeting Iran-linked buildings in Syria since the October 7th attack, but this was the first time an air strike hit an Iranian diplomatic building.
Since the attack, Israel has been on high alert. Home leave for combat troops were cancelled, air defence were bolstered, and measures were taken to disrupt GPS-navigated drones and missiles.