Israel has reportedly ordered its army to prepare for possible strikes against Iran, as Tehran has warned it will expand the war beyond the region if attacked.
Israel’s security cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered the military to step up preparations for an attack on Iran, Israeli media reported Wednesday evening.
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“The directives issued by the security cabinet to the Israeli army could lead it to carry out activities that could trigger a war,” public broadcaster KAN reported.
KAN said the guidelines were made public after Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot issued a statement telling Netanyahu – who serves as interim prime minister – not to deploy the army “without direct and immediate threat” until the next government is formed.
Eisenkot was offered the opportunity to form a new government by Israeli President Isaac Herzog this weekend after Netanyahu’s ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority in October elections.
Netanyahu, who is set to lose power if the opposition manages to form a government, has insisted that the war against Iran will continue until the government in Tehran collapses.
“From Western Asia to Europe”
Reports of Israeli preparations to attack Iran come at a time of intense diplomatic efforts to avoid further conflict and reach a diplomatic solution.
US President Donald Trump has declared himself ready to resume war if the diplomatic route proposed by Qatar fails to facilitate an agreement between Washington and Tehran.
Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said in a social media post: “If the United States launches a new war against Iran, every military base involved in the aggression, from West Asia to Europe, will be a legitimate target for Iran’s deadly strikes.” »
“No safe distance. No shelter. No immunity,” he added.
Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas, reporting from Tehran, said Iranian leaders were discussing whether to appoint hawkish Rezaei as Iran’s new chief negotiator.
“In Tehran, voices have been raised saying that if this status quo continues, Iran will not wait and could take preventive measures,” Atas said, adding that the current chief negotiator, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, commented on Iran’s determination to overcome this state of “no war, no peace” with “sustainable deterrence” if negotiations fail.
Ghalibaf told Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview published on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz “will never return” to its status before the US-Israeli war against Iran and that “the ball is now in the US court”.
“What stands in the way of an agreement is our lack of confidence in the United States,” he said.
“Position to declare victory”
In Washington, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said Trump continued to justify why he went to war with Iran and that it would end soon.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said the Trump administration’s economic pressure campaign against Iran was proving so effective that a resumption of large-scale military operations was not necessary.
“In recent days, the president and Marco Rubio have effectively declared that large-scale military engagement is over. They see no need to restart it unless Iran crosses the red lines,” Fisher said, adding that “the key issue for this White House is still to be in a position where Trump can claim victory.”
“But it is clear that there are movements behind the scenes in terms of negotiating a settlement,” he said.
Despite peace efforts, US forces “continue to work around the clock” to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial shipping, strictly enforcing the “ironclad” naval blockade against Iran, according to US Central Command.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose about 1 percent on Wednesday after Tehran rejected a US proposal to transfer its stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium to a third country.
Brent crude futures gained $1.27, or 1.39 percent, to $92.76, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 49 cents, or 0.57 percent, to $86.53.
In the previous session, oil prices initially fell more than $3 a barrel after U.S. officials downplayed the need for further military strikes against Iran.
Prices later reduced some losses when an Iranian official said no negotiations were taking place between the two sides.
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