Iran was preparing for war with Israel, the New York Times reported overnight, claiming Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave the order to prepare to respond to any Israeli attack, proportionately. The report also claimed that if the Israeli attack on Iran is relatively contained, Tehran may not launch a counterattack.
The Times said Khamenei instructed the military to prepare different plans to respond to an Israel strike on Iran. Four officials in the Islamic Republic told the paper that if an Israeli attack would cause substantial damage, Iran would respond but if the attack is limited to military installations and weapons stores, there may be no Iranian retaliation.
The sources, two of them identified as members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that an Israeli strike that would cause substantial damage could be responded to by a barrage of up to 1,000 ballistic missiles; escalated attacks by Iranian proxies in the region; and disrupting the flow of global energy supplies and maritime traffic through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Officials in Israel denied reports in the London Times claiming an attack on Iran was postponed because of classified documents leaked from the Pentagon, outlining Israeli preparations for the strike.
Intelligence sources told the Times that the leak required Israel to change parts of the attack plans. Israel planned a strike on IRGC and military installations and promised the Biden administration that it would not target Iran's nuclear program or its oil industry.
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Classified Pentagon documents on Israel's planned attack on Iran, leaked
(Photo: IDF, X)
Michael Allen, a partner at Beacon Global Strategies, a security advisory firm, and former National Security Council official in the George W. Bush administration told the Washington Post that Israel may choose to target military sites rather than oil installations because it may hamper future Iranian strikes. “They’re not going to waste a bullet,” Allen said. “I think it’s going to be very purposeful targeting.” He said adding that targeting Iran’s launch sites would be "the most logical option for Israel if it wants to degrade Iran’s abilities to strike back."
The post said Iran has a handful of launch sites, including the Tabriz, Bakhtaran and Imam missile bases in the west and Bandar Abbas in the south, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington think tank. The launch sites in western Iran are key, as they are closer to Israel.
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