Tehran Warns Multi-front Scenario Against Israel, Netanyahu Vows to Respond

Damaged buildings are seen in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh
Damaged buildings are seen in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh
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Tehran Warns Multi-front Scenario Against Israel, Netanyahu Vows to Respond

Damaged buildings are seen in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh
Damaged buildings are seen in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

Conflict between Iran and Israel escalated on Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing the readiness to confront Iran at any price and with Iran responding through Deputy Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander (IRGC) Hossein Salami, who said Iran is ready to target Israel from two fronts, adding that Israel will only have to flee through the sea.

Anyone who aims to harm Israel will pay a heavy price, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday morning at a special cabinet meeting for the 70th year of declaring Israel.

"We hear threats from Iran, and the Israeli forces are prepared for every possible Iranian move. We will fight whoever tries to harm us. We will not shy away from action against those who threaten our security. They will pay a heavy price," warned Netanyahu.

Iran immediately responded to Netanyahu's comments via Salami, who threatened Israel saying: "Do not trust your air bases, they are within the range of fire. Our fingers are on the trigger and the missiles are ready to launch. The moment the enemy decides to act against us, we will launch them."

"We have learned ways to overcome our enemies, and we can harm the enemies vital interests anywhere we want," Salami added.

Observers view those threats as serious and could lead to a direct dangerous clash, given there is no third force to ease the tension between the two.

In response, Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman warned Tehran on Friday not to even consider an attack on the Jewish state, which he said Israel has never been better prepared to counter Iran.

"I would suggest to all those on our northern border to think again about what they are doing," Liberman said.

The minister stressed that Israel is ready for every scenario, including a multi-front scenario, adding: "I don’t remember a time when we were so prepared and so ready, both the army and the people of Israel."

Things deteriorated two weeks ago when Israel bombed an Iranian air base in Damascus known as T4, killing 14 persons including 7 Iranian officers. Iran officially vowed to retaliate.

Last Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said his country will sooner or later respond to the recent crime and aggression of Israel. Qassemi said the attack will be met with a response, emphasizing that Israel’s “hit and run” policy shouldn't be tolerated anymore.

Israel responded to the threat via a senior Israeli security official who said that "in the event of a military confrontation with Iran in Syria, Israel will bring down the Syrian regime."

New York Times journalist Todd Friedman published a statement that he considered a "slip of the tongue" from a senior Israeli army officer in which he said Israel had hit Iran's base and killed Iranian officers. It was then published that it was "calling the Israeli reserve was a mistake, as a result of a computer error."

According to an Israeli official, the "mistake" was not a mistake but a part of the war plans.

Earlier on Thursday during a meeting with foreign diplomats, Netenyahu addressed the officials saying there are two things that "you can do to help Israel celebrate this great Independence Day. The first thing is—speak out against Iran."

"Iran is the enemy of us all—of Israel, the Arab world, Civilization," he stressed.

The Prime minister addressed that it is 2018 and Iran openly speaks about liquidating Israel.

"It encircles the whole Middle East which it wants to conquer, it fires rockets into Riyadh and Saudi Arabia, it is occupying Lebanon effectively, it’s trying to inflame Gaza again, it is in Iraq, and it is trying to establish a military base in Syria, which all peace loving nations should resist, speak out against Iran," he urged.

According to Israeli military expert Alex Fishman, the sequence of events during the past week in Israel, which included a series of "mistakes", was not a coincidence, but a strategy pursued by Israel aimed at entering into a military confrontation with Iran on Syrian territory.

At this stage, Israel concluded that diplomatic methods and the limited military strikes are no longer adequate, and it must take new steps, according to Fishman. However, he noted that the policy of controlling "flames" contains a large amount of risk.

Israel currently expects Russia to intervene in the matter and accept its red lines, rejecting any Iranian military presence in Syria. Russia has no interest in a confrontation between Iran and Israel at present time, as it would suspend and possibly end all agreements and compromises reached by Russia in Syria so far.



Iran Threats in UK 'Significantly Increased', Says Intel Watchdog

The parliamentary committee blamed Iran for at least 15 attempts at murder or kidnap inside the UK since 2022 - AFP
The parliamentary committee blamed Iran for at least 15 attempts at murder or kidnap inside the UK since 2022 - AFP
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Iran Threats in UK 'Significantly Increased', Says Intel Watchdog

The parliamentary committee blamed Iran for at least 15 attempts at murder or kidnap inside the UK since 2022 - AFP
The parliamentary committee blamed Iran for at least 15 attempts at murder or kidnap inside the UK since 2022 - AFP

A UK parliamentary committee on Thursday blamed Iran for at least 15 attempts to kill or kidnap British-based individuals since 2022, saying the threat from Iran had "significantly increased".

London's response has been too focused on "crisis management", said parliament's intelligence and security committee, with concerns over Iran's nuclear program dominating their attention too much.

Tehran swiftly issued a "categorical rejection of the unfounded, politically motivated and hostile allegations".

The committee's claims were "baseless, irresponsible, and reflective of a broader pattern of distortion intended to malign Iran's legitimate regional and national interests", said its London embassy, AFP reported.

The report comes after growing alarm in Britain at alleged Iranian targeting of dissidents, media organizations and journalists in the UK, including accusations of physical attacks.

Iran in March became the first country to be placed on an enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, which aims to boost Britain's national security against covert foreign influences.

It requires all persons working inside the country for Iran, its intelligence services or the Revolutionary Guard to register on a new list or face jail.

"Iran poses a wide-ranging, persistent and unpredictable threat to the UK, UK nationals, and UK interests," Kevan Jones, chairman of the watchdog committee, said in the report's conclusions.

"Iran has a high appetite for risk when conducting offensive activity and its intelligence services are ferociously well-resourced with significant areas of asymmetric strength."

Jones said it bolstered this through proxy groups, "including criminal networks, militant and terrorist organisations, and private cyber actors" to allow for deniability.

His committee's report said that while Iran's UK activity "appears to be less strategic and on a smaller scale than Russia and China", it "should not be underestimated".

The physical threat posed had "significantly increased" in pace and volume, and was "focused acutely on dissidents and other opponents of the regime" as well as Jewish and Israeli interests in the UK, it said.

"The Iranian Intelligence Services have shown that they are willing and able -- often through third-party agents -- to attempt assassination within the UK, and kidnap from the UK," the report said.

"There have been at least 15 attempts at murder or kidnap against British nationals or UK-based individuals since the beginning of 2022."

Similarly, security minister Dan Jarvis said in March Britain's MI5 domestic intelligence service had tallied 20 Iran-backed plots "presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents".

The watchdog committee took evidence for two years from August 2021 for its report, a period which saw Tehran implicated in a plot to kill two London-based Iran International television anchors.

In March last year one of the Persian-language outlet's journalists was stabbed outside his London home.

Two Romanian men have been charged in relation to the attack and face extradition to the UK to stand trial.

The counter-terrorism unit of London's Metropolitan Police led the investigation. Iran's charge d'affaires in the UK has said that the Tehran authorities "deny any link" to the incident.