Washington, DC, August 13, :
John Kirby, advisor to the president on national security matters, warned on Monday (local time) that, given the continued tensions in the Middle East, the US should be ready for "significant" assaults on Israel, which might happen this week. This follows US President Joe Biden's meetings alongside French, German, Italian, and British leaders in an effort to reduce tensions in the Middle East.
Our expectations and worries over the possible timetable are identical to those of our Israeli counterparts. Kirby told reporters, "Could be this week," as reported by The Times of Israel. "We have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks," stated the president.
Kirby said the request was "largely for all the leaders to repeat what they have said before in terms of reaffirming Israel's defence" in addition to "send a strong message that we don't want to see any rise in violence, any attacks by Iran or its proxies."
On Monday, the presidents of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy issued a joint statement in which they urged Iran to end its continuous threats of a military strike against Israel.
An official from the White House said that the joint statement went something like this: "We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place."
The urgent necessity for aid distribution and delivery was further highlighted.
The continuous efforts to de-escalate tensions, reach a truce, and free the hostages in Gaza have our full support. We fully support the united request from President Biden, President Sisi of Egypt, and Amir Tamim of Qatar to resume negotiations later this week in order to finalize the accord expeditiously. We emphasize that we do not want to waste any more time," the joint statement stated.
Everyone involved ought to do what they're supposed to. Also, the distribution and delivery of relief must be unimpeded. In addition, we reaffirmed our commitment to helping Israel defend itself from Iranian aggression and terrorist activities backed by Iran, the statement said.
Israeli forces are gearing up for a robust response to Iran's threats of "punishment" following the assassination of Hamas senior leader Ismail Haniyeh last month in Tehran.
Despite earlier threats to execute Haniyeh and other senior Hamas members for their role in the terrorist assaults on October 7, Israel has neither denied nor acknowledged that it was responsible for Haniyeh's murder.
Following the announcement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of the death of Ismail Haniyeh in an attack in Tehran, Iran's capital, on July 31, tensions in West Asia have intensified.
The IRGC released a statement confirming that someone struck Haniyeh's house in Tehran, killing him and one of his bodyguards. According to a report from Press TV, a residence in Tehran that is reserved for veterans was damaged by a rocket at 2 am local time on Wednesday.
Israeli forces launched an offensive in southern Lebanon on July 30 in response to a rocket attack on Golan Heights that killed 12 children. Top Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr was among those killed, according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The "most senior Hezbollah military commander," Fuad Shukr, was killed in the Israeli strike, according to the IDF's statement. Shukr was thought to be the leader of Hezbollah's strategy branch and sat on the Jihad Council, the senior military body of the organization.
He has been in charge of Hezbollah's assaults against Israel since the Hamas attack on October 7. As per the military, he oversaw the recent bombing in Majdal Shams that killed 12 children.
