Iran plans direct attack on Israel, may strike within days: Report

The Israeli intelligence community believes Iran has decided to launch a direct attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran and could do so within days, Axios reporter Barak Ravid reported on Sunday, citing two sources.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and told him Iran’s military preparations suggest Iran is getting ready for a large-scale attack on Israel, Ravid said on X.

Ravid added that the Iranian attack could occur before August 15, the date set by the US, Egypt and Qatar for new Gaza ceasefire negotiations. Israel has confirmed it will participate in the talks, while Hamas has yet to formally respond.

The Middle East has been on high alert since the late July assassinations of top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran and its regional proxies, including Lebanese Hezbollah, have blamed Israel for these attacks and vowed to retaliate.

While Israel has confirmed responsibility for Shukr’s killing, it has not acknowledged involvement in Haniyeh’s death.

In a statement made shortly after Haniyeh’s death, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that it was Iran’s duty to avenge the Hamas leader’s death, given that it occurred on Iranian soil.

On Friday, Ali Fadavi, deputy chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said that Khamenei’s orders for Israel to be “punished” for Haniyeh’s killing would be executed “in the best possible way.”

Khamenei’s “orders regarding severe punishment of Israel and revenge for the blood of martyr Ismail Haniyeh are clear and explicit” and “will be carried out in the best possible way,” Fadavi said.