U.S. intelligence indicated Tehran’s proxy militia forces would likely carry out an attack on Israel, rather than Iran directly due to concerns of an American response, CNN reported citing two people familiar with the matter.
Iranian officials threatened an attack against Israel in response to an alleged Israeli airstrike which killed a top Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) commander and other military officials holding a “secret meeting” on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria.
Tehran originally said it would hold the U.S. “answerable” for the airstrike, due to its support of Israel, though Washington informed Iran it had no involvement or advanced knowledge.
According to the CNN report, its sources said Tehran was now wary of a “dramatic escalation in the fighting” and would not want to give the U.S. or allies a reason to strike Iran directly, but could still attack Israel through proxies as early as this week.
CNN’s sources cited U.S. intelligence assessments as describing Iran urging a simultaneous large-scale attack from its proxy militia groups in the region, consisting of drones and missiles, while one of the sources indicated it was unclear if this would happen during or after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Furthermore, while Iran and its proxy military groups did appear “poised to attack” U.S. troops in the region, the sources noted that Tehran “does not have perfect command and control” of its proxies so an attack on American assets was not completely ruled out.
Source » i24news