TLTP
\nTEL AVIV
\nThe Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are preparing for a possible US attack on Iran before President Donald Trump leaves office, viewing his lame-duck period as a \u201cvery sensitive\u201d time, according to several media reports.
\nThe Israeli government has instructed the IDF to draw up plans in the event Trump orders a preemptive strike on the Islamic Republic, which could potentially target the country\u2019s nuclear infrastructure, Axios reported citing anonymous senior officials in Tel Aviv.
\nThe preparations are linked not only to the possible strike itself, but to the retaliation it might provoke from Iran, which could look to respond using proxy fighters deployed across Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, the officials told the media outlet.
\nHowever, the journalist noted that the plans were not the result of any specific intelligence indicating such a strike had been ordered, with the officials simply anticipating a \u201cvery sensitive period\u201d before the inauguration of presumptive president-elect Joe Biden on January 20.
\nThe report comes just days after Israel\u2019s Channel 13 similarly stated that both Washington and Tel Aviv plan to step up \u201ccovert operations\u201d against Tehran in the final days of Trump\u2019s term, though the broadcaster offered no details on what shape that could take.
\nThe New York Times, meanwhile, reported earlier this month that Trump had recently \u201csought options\u201d for a strike on Iran\u2019s nuclear capabilities \u2013 which it said would \u201calmost certainly be focused on Natanz,\u201d the country\u2019s primary uranium enrichment site. But the president was reportedly \u201cdissuaded\u201d from an attack by advisers, who warned it might kick off a bloody regional conflict. It is unclear if they have returned to the idea since.
\nNonetheless, Iranian officials reacted to the Times report vowing a \u201ccrushing response\u201d to any US strike.
\nTrump\u2019s presidency has been marked by intense hostility toward Tehran both in rhetoric and policy, shredding a landmark nuclear agreement inked under the Barack Obama administration in 2015 and resuming a raft of crippling sanctions lifted under the deal. Declaring a \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d campaign, Trump also moved to wreck Iran\u2019s petroleum sector, aiming to slash vital oil exports to \u201czero\u201d and effectively grind its economy to a halt, even at the peak of its coronavirus outbreak.
\nThough Trump has so far managed to avoid an outright war with Iran, open fighting may have only been narrowly averted after the January assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a beloved Iranian general who led the country\u2019s elite Quds Force. Iran responded to the kill strike with a barrage of rockets on Iraqi bases housing US troops \u2013 though besides humiliation no serious injuries were inflicted in the reprisal since Tehran apparently passed an advance warning to Baghdad, giving Americans enough time to seek shelter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TLTP TEL AVIV The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are preparing for a possible US attack on Iran before President Donald Trump leaves office, viewing his lame-duck period as a \u201cvery sensitive\u201d time, according to several media reports. The Israeli government has instructed the IDF to draw up plans in the event Trump orders a preemptive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-158853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-national"],"yoast_head":"\n