The US believes that the Israeli response to Iran’s unprecedented strike early on Sunday morning is likely to be limited, and may focus on striking key targets outside of Iran, four US officials told NBC News.
The officials noted that the US’s assessment is based on conversations with Israeli officials prior to the attack and that the Israeli approach may since have shifted.
Instead of directly striking Iran in response — which Israeli allies have warned runs the risk of sending the region spiraling into an all-out war — the officials tell NBC that the Zionist entity may strike Iran’s “proxies”.
The report added that the US “expects Israel to provide updates regarding the decisions it makes, but does not intend to take part in any retaliatory reaction.” An unsourced report by Channel 12 on Monday claimed that the Israeli war cabinet decided to hit back “clearly and forcefully” against Iran with a response designed to send the message that “Israel will not allow an attack of that magnitude against it to pass without a reaction.” However, the Channel 12 report added that the Zionist entity does not want its response to spark a regional war, or to shatter the coalition that helped it defend against Iran’s attack.US officials expect a possible Israeli response to Iran’s attack over the weekend to be limited in scope and most likely involve strikes against Iranian military forces and Iranian-backed proxies outside Iran, four US officials tell NBC News.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 16, 2024
It noted also that ‘Israel’ intends to coordinate its action with the US