U.S. bolsters Israeli defense amid rising threat from Iran
The United States government is collaborating with the authorities in Tel Aviv on a defence plan amid concerns of a potential Iranian attack on Israel in response to the death of Hassan Nasrallah, CNN reported on Monday, citing a source in the US government. The Hezbollah leader was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
The preparations include repositioning US forces, the station reported without providing further details. In April, the US led an international coalition that helped Israel defend against a barrage of hundreds of rockets and drones launched by Iran and its allies on the Jewish state in retaliation for the killing of several senior Revolutionary Guard officers in a Damascus airstrike. With the assistance of, among others, the US, the UK, France, and Sunni Arab states, most of the missiles were intercepted.
The US armed forces were preparing for a similar operation in early August when tensions in the region escalated after the death of Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an attack attributed to Israel in Tehran. Iran then vowed revenge, which has not yet materialised.
Escalation in the Middle East
The Shiite Hezbollah, which controls part of Lebanon, is a close ally of Iran and the strongest link in the network of militant groups in the Middle East coordinated by Tehran and aimed at Israel and the US.
Nasrallah was killed on Friday in an airstrike on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Israel has been conducting extensive operations against Hezbollah for several weeks, as the group has conflicted with Israel with varying intensity for decades. Since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, there has been a regular exchange of fire on the Israeli-Lebanese border, forcing the evacuation of civilians on both sides of the border.
Iran's threat of attack
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani declared on Monday that Iran is resolute in responding to all of Israel's actions. On Saturday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, emphasized that the death of Nasrallah would not go without retaliation and urged Muslims to stand together against Israel, referring to it as a "vile regime."
In Friday's attack on Beirut, alongside Nasrallah and other senior Hezbollah commanders, Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Abbas Nilforushan was also killed.
