Hezbollah ‘moving faster than Iran in plans for Israel attack’

Hezbollah is moving faster than Iran in its planning for an attack on Israel and is likely to strike sooner and harder, as Tehran appears to step back from retaliatory action.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah gives televised address to the nation. Picture: AFP.

Hezbollah is moving faster than Iran in its planning for an attack on Israel and is likely to strike sooner and harder than Tehran, which seems to be stepping back from immediate retaliatory action, according to US intelligence and Israel’s Defence Minister.

A US military official told CNN Iran had made some, but not all, of the preparations that the US would expect to see in advance of a major attack on Israel but Hezbollah could strike with little or no notice.

As tensions soar over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last week, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar warned Hezbollah was likely to target Tel Aviv as part of its response.

“If Hezbollah can choose targets, it is possible that it will target Tel Aviv and civilians might be harmed on the margins. The effective thing will be to hit a significant centre of the organisation that made the decision about the assassination and took part in it,” the newspaper wrote.

Israeli officials interpreted the article as saying Hezbollah’s target could be the IDF headquarters in the centre of Tel Aviv or the Mossad headquarters and other key intelligence bases in northern Tel Aviv, the Axos website reports.

Jerusalem also warned Hezbollah was likely to attack before Tehran; Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops on Thursday (AEST) Hezbollah could hit Israel harder than Iran, noting the group might misread how hard Israel would respond.

“As things stand, (Hezbollah chief) Nasrallah may drag Lebanon into paying extremely heavy prices. The heaviest there are. They do not realise what could happen” to them, he said, according to Israeli media.

“If they looked at the pictures of Gaza, I believe they would understand, but sometimes logic is overcome,” he said, adding that the situation could “deteriorate into a full war. This is not theoretical, but very real.”

In Tehran, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly warned the country’s Supreme Leader an attack would destroy the country’s economy and harm his own presidency.

Iran International reports that Mr Pezeshkian told Ayatollah Ali Khamenei an attack on Israel would result in severe retaliation by Israel against Iran’s infrastructure and energy resources which could paralyse Iran’s economy and cause its collapse.

He also warned that a war would make it impossible to fix the economy and worsen the government’s relations with its own citizens – and the rest of the world.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against a strike against Israel. Picture: AFP.

The website reports the Ayatollah “remained noncommittal” during their meeting but Revolutionary Guards commanders argued against the president, saying his advice couldn’t be trusted due to his lack of knowledge and experience in security and military issues.

Earlier this week, the Wall St Journal reports that Iran officials told Arab countries that they didn’t care if an attack on Israel led to a wider regional war.

Israeli Defence Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told troops they would “launch a very quick attack anywhere in Lebanon, anywhere in Gaza, anywhere in the Middle East, aboveground and belowground,” if Iran or Hezbollah attacked Israel.

“We will send a very clear message to our enemies, those who attack us, those who in every speech talk about how they seek to destroy the State of Israel. We will strike them, and we will continue to grow stronger,” he added.

Earlier, Tehran has advised civilian airlines around the world to avoid flying through Iranian airspace today (AEST).

The Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV quoted an Egyptian official source as saying Iranian airspace was to be avoided due to military exercises, Reuters reports.

The US Federal Aviation Admninistration advises the warning is probably not linked to the tensions between Iran and Israel, with Egypt’s warning more about being “better safe than sorry,” military blogger OSINTdefender claims.

After speaking to an Official with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Notice of a Live-Fire Military Exercise in the Airspace over certain Areas of Iran was provided yesterday through Regular Channels and does not appear to be related to the ongoing Tension between…

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) August 7, 2024

However Mr Pezeshkian on Wednesday called on the United States and other Western countries to halt their support for Israel.

“If the United States and Western countries want to prevent war and insecurity in the region they should immediately stop selling arms and supporting the Zionist regime,” Mr Pezeshkian said in a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

“The United States and the Western countries support a regime that does not adhere to any of the international laws and regulations,” he added, according to his website.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday blamed Israel for the attack that killed Haniyeh in Tehran.

A statement issued after an extraordinary meeting of the 57-member bloc in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah said it “holds Israel, the illegal occupying power, fully responsible for this heinous attack”, which it described as “a serious infringement” of Iran’s sovereignty.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged citizens to remain calm as Jerusalem braces for an attack from Iran.

“We are continuing forward to victory. I know that Israeli citizens are on alert, and I ask you one thing — stay calm and composed,” Mr Netanyahu said during a visit to an army recruitment base.

“We will send a very clear message to our enemies, those who attack us, those who in every speech talk about how they seek to destroy the State of Israel. We will strike them, and we will continue to grow stronger.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has ordered its ambassadors around the world to emphasise that Israel would not allow an attack by Iran or its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, to go unanswered.

According to Israel’s Channel 12 TV, a document sent to embassies casts Iran as the “head of the snake” and “the primary instigator of regional instability,” instructing Israeli diplomats to stress that “while Israel always prefers diplomatic solutions, it remains resolute in protecting its citizens at any cost, acting as any responsible, democratic, and law-abiding nation would under similar circumstances.”

Fears of a military escalation between Iran and Israel have surged following the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Tehran last week.

Haniyeh was visiting for Pezeshkian’s inauguration ceremony when he was killed using a “short-range projectile” launched from outside his accommodation, according to the Revolutionary Guards.

Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the attack and vowed to retaliate, although Tehran says it does not seek a further escalation.

With AFP