The United States Central Intelligence Agency has warned Israel that a retaliatory strike by Iran could come at any time. Iran has already vowed to respond to an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian consulate in Syria, that killed twelve people.

One of those who was killed in the Israeli strike included Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander and a Hezbollah member. The attack has raised concerns about the Israel-Hamas war spreading in the Middle East due to Iran and its proxies.

The U.S. is warning that the deadly strike in Damascus could trigger new attacks on American troops by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, said Lt Gen Alexus Grynkewich, the top U.S. Air Force commander for the Middle East. By attacking an Iranian diplomatic station, Israel’s apparent escalation has raised fears that the devastating six-month war against Hamas could spill over into the entire Mideast region and beyond, according to India TV News. 

Israel has yet to claim responsibility for the attack while the U.S., Britain, and France opposed a Russian-drafted United Nations Security Council statement that would have condemned an attack on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria. These three nations claimed that what occurred during the attacks was “unclear.”

The Biden administration insists it had no advance knowledge of the airstrike on the Iranian consulate on Monday, but Washington is closely tied to Israel’s military regardless. The US remains Israel’s indispensable ally and unstinting supplier of weapons, responsible for some 70 per cent of Israeli weapon imports and an estimated 15 per cent of Israel’s defence budget. –India TV News

It is alleged that Iran is planning a combined attack with a “rain” of drones and missiles from its bases on strategic locations in Israel. Meanwhile, The Times of Israel writes that the Israeli Defense Forces has begun conscripting air defense reservists due to fears of retaliation for a strike on Iran’s mission in Syria.

“The move follows Iran’s threats to retaliate against Israel’s alleged assassination of Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior IRGC official in Syria, along with his deputy, five other IRGC officers and at least one Hezbollah member,” the publication says.

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