Israel, U.S. believe Iran is about to retaliate for Israeli bombing of Syria consulate, officials say
Israel and the U.S. are convinced Iran is preparing to retaliate for the Israeli strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria, U.S. officials say.
Israel on Monday struck an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, and killed a number of senior leaders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to the Pentagon.
The U.S. has picked up intelligence that Iran is planning a retaliatory attack that would include a swarm of Shahed loitering drones and cruise missiles. Officials say the timing and target are unknown, but a proportional response to the Damascus attack would be to hit an Israeli diplomatic facility. The attack is likely to come between now and the end of Ramadan next week.
posted on X that Iran’s message to American leaders was “not to get dragged in Netanyahu’s trap for U.S.: Stay away so you won’t get hurt.” Jamshidi claimed that the U.S. then “asked Iran not to target American facilities.”
CBS News confirmed that the U.S. did receive a written message from Iran. A State Department spokesperson told CBS that the U.S. responded by sending a written warning to Iran not to use the Israeli strike as a “pretext to attack U.S. personnel and facilities.”
The State Department spokesperson characterized its message to Iran as a warning: “We did not ‘ask.'”
It is unusual for the U.S. to comment on the context of diplomatic messages or discussions but Iran had publicly disclosed it. The Swiss government acted as a conduit for the written message since the U.S. and Iran do not have direct diplomatic ties.
The U.S. has roughly 900 troops in Syria, and 2,500 troops in Iraq, as well as other support outposts in Jordan. The Iraqi prime minister, Shia al-Sudani, is scheduled to visit the White House on April 15 to discuss the U.S. military presence.
David Martin
Source: cbsnews.com