Israel is on high alert for the possibility of any U.S. intervention in Iran as authorities there confront the biggest anti-government protests in years, according to three Israeli sources with knowledge of the matter.
Israel has not signalled a desire to intervene in Iran as protests grip the country © Mena Today
Israel is on high alert for the possibility of any U.S. intervention in Iran as authorities there confront the biggest anti-government protests in years, according to three Israeli sources with knowledge of the matter.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in recent days and warned Iran’s rulers against using force against demonstrators. On Saturday, Trump said the U.S. stands “ready to help”.
The sources, who were present for Israeli security consultations over the weekend, did not elaborate on what Israel’s high-alert footing meant in practice. Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war in June, in which the U.S. joined Israel in launching airstrikes.
In a phone call on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the possibility of U.S. intervention in Iran, according to an Israeli source who was present for the conversation. A U.S. official confirmed the two men spoke but did not say what topics they discussed.
Israel has not signalled a desire to intervene in Iran as protests grip the country, with tensions between the two arch-foes high over Israeli concerns about Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
In an interview with the Economist published on Friday, Netanyahu said there would be horrible consequences for Iran if it were to attack Israel. Alluding to the protests, he said: “Everything else, I think we should see what is happening inside Iran."
Reporting by Rami Ayyub and Maayan Lubell
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Sunday he hopes Iran "will soon be freed from the yoke of tyranny," condemning what he described as "mass massacres against civilians" as the Iranian regime faces unprecedented mass protests.
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In a nation where opposition to almost half a century of clerical rule has long been fragmented, the son of the last shah of Iran has become a prominent voice spurring on protesters staging the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years.
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