JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel is ready to handle any scenario that may arise with Iran, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday, after Tehran threatened retaliation for the killing of Iranian generals on April 1.
An Iranian official had previously said Israeli embassies were unsafe, and a semi-official news agency published a graphic showing weapons they said were capable of hitting Israel.
Gallant’s office released the statement on Israel’s preparedness after holding an “operational situation assessment” with senior military officials.
“After completing the assessment, Minister Gallant emphasized that the defense establishment has completed preparations for responses should any scenario occur vis-à-vis Iran,” his office said.
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said Israel “knows how to deal with Iran – offensively and defensively.”
“We know how to act forcefully against Iran both in places near and far. We operate in cooperation with the United States and strategic partners in the region,” he said in a televised speech.
Iran has threatened to respond to the alleged Israeli attack in Damascus last week that killed seven members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, including a senior commander.
A senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Yahya Rahim Safavi, said Sunday that none of Israel’s embassies are safe anymore and that Tehran considers confrontation with Israel a “legitimate and legal right.”
The semi-official ISNA news agency published a graphic on Sunday showing nine different types of Iranian missiles that they say could hit Israel.
Israel has not confirmed that it was behind the attack in Damascus. Its leaders have said in more general terms that they are working against Iran, which supports the militant groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both of which have been in conflict with Israel in the past six months.
The United States is also on high alert and preparing for a possible attack by Iran against Israeli or American assets in the region.
Israel, Argentina and the United States have accused Iran of being responsible for the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. Tehran has denied any involvement.