Israeli Military at ‘Peak Readiness’ as U.S. Warns Iran Could Attack ‘This Week’

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******** Military at ‘Peak Readiness’ as U.S. Warns Iran Could ******* ‘This Week’

Iran vowed revenge at the end of last month after a top ****** leader was ******* in Tehran, leading many in ******* to ***** an imminent *******. Nearly two weeks have passed and no large-scale response has materialized, leaving ******* and the wider Middle East on edge.

The crisis comes at an especially delicate moment in Iran, which analysts say is trying to formulate a response that doesn’t let an ************** on its soil go unpunished, while avoiding an all-out war against a powerful adversary. It also comes as a new government in Tehran has taken office, which could be slowing a decision on how to respond.

Here’s a look at the crisis and the factors that could determine what happens next:

Why has Iran vowed revenge?

Iran and ****** officials have promised to avenge the ****** of Ismail Haniyeh, a senior ****** leader, who was ******* in Tehran on July 31 after he attended the inauguration of Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Iran, which backs ******, blamed ******* for the **************. ******** leaders have not said their forces were responsible.

A day earlier, Fuad Shukr, a senior commander in Hezbollah, which is also supported by Iran, was ******* in an ******** airstrike in a suburb of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The ******** government said that strike was in retaliation for a rocket fired from Lebanon that struck a soccer field in the ********-controlled Golan Heights, ******** at least 12 people, mostly teenagers and children. Hezbollah has denied carrying out that *******.

But Mr. Haniyeh’s ******** was seen as the greater ***** to Tehran because it took place on Iranian soil. In response, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued an order for Iran to strike ******* directly, according to three Iranian officials briefed on the matter.

Why hasn’t Iran responded yet?

A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaan, said that “it is necessary to punish *******,” echoing comments from other senior Iranian officials. But he also said that “Tehran is not interested in escalating the regional conflicts.”

Furthermore, the new president’s cabinet, including the foreign minister, is yet to be approved, which is likely to have slowed internal deliberations, said Sanam Vakil, a Middle East analyst at Chatham House, a research group in London.

At the same time, Mr. Pezeshkian, who is seen as a reformist, may try to balance a perceived need to project strength with his government’s broader interest in alleviating the effects of Western economic sanctions and in preventing Iran from becoming further isolated internationally, Ms. Vakil said.

“The response has to be carefully calibrated so as not to slam shut the door of negotiations with the West that could lead to potential sanctions relief,” Ms. Vakil said.

A military response that is viewed as largely symbolic is also risky from Tehran’s perspective, but it would be unlikely to deter ******* from conducting further attacks, said Ali Vaez, the Iran project director of Crisis Group, a think tank.

That leaves the option of a substantive response, but that would, in turn, likely provoke a ******* ******** response — and Tehran would not be able to control the cycle of escalation that could follow, Mr. Vaez said.

“******* has checkmated Iran in this situation because Iran is left with no good options,” said Mr. Vaez. He and Ms. Vakil both said that it is difficult to discern Iran’s intentions.

What could an Iranian response look like?

Iran could strike ******* from multiple directions and in different forms. Tehran maintains a network of proxy forces including ******, Hezbollah and the Houthi militia in Yemen, giving it the ability to ******* targets from northern ******* to the Red Sea.

In April, Tehran attacked ******* with around 300 missiles and drones, a response to an apparent ******** strike on an Iranian embassy complex. Almost all were shot down by *******’s air defenses assisted by the ******* States and other allies. It was the first direct ******* by Iran after a clandestine war with ******* that had been conducted for years by land, sea, air and cyberspace and, as such, represented a significant escalation.

The ******* in April caused light damage to an ******** air base in the Negev desert and seriously wounded a 7-year-old girl. Now ******* is bracing for what could be a ******* *******.

How is ******* preparing?

The ******** authorities have told people to stock food and water in fortified safe rooms, and hospitals have made plans to move patients to underground wards. At the same time, rescue teams have been positioned in cities.

U.S. and ******** diplomats and security officials had some advanced knowledge of its scope and intensity of Iran’s ******* in April, which facilitated defensive preparations. By the same token, the nearly two weeks that have passed since Mr. Haniyeh’s ******** have allowed time for heightened readiness in *******.

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that ******* was “prepared for defense, as well as offense.”

That said, military analysts say that Iran and Hezbollah could potentially overwhelm *******’s defenses by ******* enough missiles simultaneously. They could also launch swarms of drones that fly at low altitude, making them difficult to detect and ********.

How are the ******* States and others responding?

Diplomats have feared for months that back-and-forth strikes between ******* and Iran could escalate into a regional conflict that would compound both the war in Gaza and the conflict on *******’s border with Lebanon. As a result, they have worked to forestall or minimize Iran’s reaction.

The foreign minister of Jordan, an ally of the ******* States, has traveled to Tehran in recent days for meetings. Saudi Arabia last week convened an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a forum of ******* countries, at which it called the ************** of Mr. Haniyeh a violation of Iran’s sovereignty while urging de-escalation by all sides.

The ******* States has stepped up its military readiness. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has ordered additional combat aircraft, warships and a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East in response to threats, both to bolster *******’s capacity to thwart any potential ******* and to reinforce the message that it would support the country militarily.

At the same time, the Biden administration has sought to jump-start cease-***** talks for Gaza. The Biden administration and ***** mediators are planning a meeting in the region on Thursday to try to advance a deal. ******* has said it will send its negotiators, but ****** has not said if it will participate.

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