Former US Defense Secretary Predicts Iran Will Attack Israel

Amid the tense situation in the Middle East, former US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper predicted that Iran is likely to retaliate against Israel for the recent missile attack on Tehran's consulate in Damascus, Syria.

“They (Iran) will act,” predicted Mr. Esper, who headed the Pentagon under the Donald Trump administration. “They will feel the need to do something to maintain credibility with their proxies across the region and to satisfy the demands of the hardliners.”

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the April 1 attack that killed senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Reuters cited a Lebanese security source as the first to identify Israel as responsible.

Meanwhile, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman responded: “We do not comment on reports in foreign media.”

In an interview with CNN (USA) on April 5, Mr. Esper predicted that Iran would take action against Israel, but on a limited scale to avoid spreading conflict in the Middle East.

“They (Iran) do not want to escalate. They know that a major conflict with Israel, let alone Israel and the United States, would be catastrophic for Iran. So I think they will limit their attacks to Israel, Israeli targets.”

World - Former US Secretary of Defense predicts Iran will attack Israel — The Iranian embassy in Damascus (Syria) was attacked by missiles, killing 7 military advisers of Tehran, April 1, 2024. Photo: Getty Images

Iran said it reserved the right to “take decisive action” after the attack, believed to have been carried out by Israel, which killed six other Iranian military advisers in addition to General Zahedi.

A senior White House official told Fox News Digital that US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked about the threat from Iran in a phone call on April 4.

The posture of U.S. forces in the Middle East has not changed since before the Israeli airstrike on Damascus, two U.S. defense officials said. The U.S. is monitoring the situation in light of increasingly bellicose rhetoric from Iran but has not made any changes to prepare for a major attack.

Although Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack on the Iranian consulate, the IDF has made a number of operational changes, such as canceling the leave of any IDF members and mobilizing additional reservists to bolster the force's air defenses on Israel's northern border, the Telegraph reported.

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari reiterated the multi-front conflict Israel is fighting. “We are in a multi-front war. We are not only wary of Hamas, but of all our enemies. We must be wary of all fronts and all threats to be ready for any scenario,” Hagari said .

Minh Duc (According to Fox News)

Source