Israel Orders Preparations for Possible Iran Attack as Tehran Warns of Wider Retaliation
Israel's security cabinet has ordered the military to step up preparations for a possible attack on Iran, according to Israeli media reports on 11 November. The cabinet is chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported that the directives the cabinet issued to the military could lead to activities that could trigger a war. The security cabinet is a small group of senior ministers that makes the government's most sensitive security decisions.
The order comes during a political transition in Israel. Netanyahu's ruling coalition lost its majority in parliament in October elections, and President Isaac Herzog has offered opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the chance to form a new government. Until one is formed, Netanyahu is serving as prime minister in a caretaker capacity, meaning he remains in office on an interim basis. Al Jazeera reported that Eisenkot told Netanyahu not to deploy the military "without a direct and immediate threat" until the next government is in place.
Iran has responded with its own warnings. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, which advises the country's leadership on security policy, said that if the United States launches another war against Iran, every military base involved in the aggression, from West Asia to Europe, will be a legitimate target for Iranian strikes.
US President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to return to waging war if a diplomatic track offered by Qatar, a channel of negotiation, fails to produce a deal between Washington and Tehran.
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route through the Gulf, will "never return" to its status before the US-Israel war on Iran.
Taken together, the statements describe a standoff in which Israel is preparing military options, the United States is pursuing talks while keeping force on the table, and Iran is warning of the consequences of any new fighting.
