FLASH NEWS
'Don't you dare'/ Biden threatens Iran not to attack Israel
2024-04-13 08:55:44 / BOTA
US President Joe Biden said he expects Iran to attack Israel sooner or later, as fears grow of Iranian retaliation after an airstrike killed top commanders earlier this month.
Israel has not acknowledged the attack on an Iranian consulate in Syria, but it is widely believed to have been behind it.
US officials have told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that a major strike against Israel could happen soon.
Israel says it is ready to defend itself. Mr. Biden told Iran: "Don't do it."
"We are committed to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel," Mr. Biden said. "We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed."
Iran supports Hamas, the Palestinian group fighting Israel in Gaza, as well as various proxy groups across the region, including some - such as Hezbollah in Lebanon - that often carry out attacks against Israelis.
On Friday, Hezbollah said it had fired "dozens" of rockets from Lebanon toward Israel.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman said about 40 rockets and two explosive drones had been fired. No casualties were reported and there was no indication of involvement by other actors.
A US official told CBS that the barrage was separate from any expected Iranian attack on Israel.
BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner reckons Iran is deliberately keeping the Middle East and Washington guessing.
Since the deadly April 1 strike on the consulate building in Damascus, from which Israel believes Iran was directing its secret arms supplies to Iranian proxies in Lebanon and Syria, Iran's security establishment has debated its response.
This is about calibration. Strike too hard and Israel will respond with devastating force.
Go too easy and Iran risks being seen as weak and powerless.
Tactically, it makes no sense for Iran to respond now, when the region is on full alert and when the US has told the world what it expects.
Pragmatists in Tehran and Qom will be calling for restraint, while "hawks" including the aging Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, will be looking for a firm response.
But Iran does not want a full-scale war, and neither do its neighbors on the Arab side of the Gulf. Governments there have already asked Iran for restraint. The question now, says the BBC correspondent, is whether the hawks or the doves will prevail.
Rising tensions have led countries including the US, UK, India and Australia to warn people against traveling to Israel. Germany called on its citizens to leave Iran.
The US State Department also barred diplomatic personnel and their families in Israel from leaving the cities of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheba.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with members of his war cabinet amid warnings.
Some Israelis said they were not worried about a possible Iranian attack.
"We know we are surrounded by enemies, to the south, to the north, to the east and to the west," Daniel Kosman told the AFP news agency at a market in Jerusalem. "We're not afraid, I guarantee you. Look around: people are coming out."
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