NEW YORK, April 12. /TASS/. The US expects an Iranian attack against military targets inside Israel as soon as April 12, possibly including "more than a hundred drones and dozens of missiles," CBS television reported, citing US officials.
According to the officials, it would be challenging for Israel to defend against the attack, which would be in retaliation for a strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria. But the officials also held out the possibility that Tehran could opt for a smaller-scale attack to avoid escalation.
On April 12, the Wall Street Journal reported that an Iranian retaliatory strike could hapen within the next 24 to 48 hours. According to the newspaper, Israel is preparing for an Iranian attack to come from the north or south. The report also said Tehran had not yet made a final decision. The Axios news website reported, citing sources, that the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock that Iran would give a limited response so as not to set off an escalation of tensions.
On April 1, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said seven Iranian advisers were killed in an Israeli Air Force strike on the country’s consulate in the Syrian capital city of Damascus. They were two IRGC generals and five other officers. Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the incident. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari told CNN that the strike hit a military building of the IRGC in Damascus, not a consulate.