Netanyahu vows to 'harm anyone' attacking Israel as fears of Iranian strike grow

Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israeli planes to conduct exercises to simulate a strike on Iran. Photo: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS

Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday vowed to «harm» anyone who attacks Israel amid fears Iran is poised to launch an unprecedented direct missile attack on its old enemy.

Prime Minister Israel said: «Whoever harms us, we will harm them» after US intelligence officials warned that Tehran was preparing a strike that could plunge the Middle East into a new war.

Israeli planes carried out exercises simulating a strike on Iran, local media reported, as Western and Arab diplomats rushed to persuade the Islamic republic to abandon military action.

Elite Iranian forces based in Syria have moved into civilian hotels in anticipation of Israeli retaliation, security sources told The Telegraph.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, chief military spokesman Israel, said civilians were not being ordered to do any special things. preparations, but added that the country is “fully prepared for a range of scenarios.”

On Thursday, Annalena Bärbock, Germany's foreign minister, called for «maximum restraint» in calls with her Iranian counterpart.

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Senior US Republicans demanded that Joe Biden order the military to join Israel in a «devastating» response to any Iranian attack.

Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has vowed to avenge the killing of top generals in an Israeli drone strike in Damascus in April. He said on state television: «The evil regime must be punished, and it will be punished.»

Iranian state media said the nature of the response had already been determined and the «punishment» would be severe.

Iranian diplomats said Thursday that Tehran would soon respond to the attack on Damascus, saying it could have been avoided.

“Had the UN Security Council condemned the Zionist regime’s reprehensible act of aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus and subsequently brought the perpetrators to justice, the need for Iran to punish this rogue regime could have been eliminated,” the Iranian mission to the UN said on social media .

The United States told Iran it was not involved in the strike on Damascus, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. «We have warned Iran not to use this attack as a pretext for further escalation in the region or to attack U.S. facilities or personnel,» she said.

Tom Cotton, a Republican senator, warned that Iranian attack «President Biden must immediately warn the ayatollahs that the United States will support Israel with all its might, and a joint US-Israeli response to any attack will be swift and destructive.»

Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, called his colleagues in China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Europe to ask them to use their influence to “urge Iran not to escalate,” the State Department said on Thursday.

Mr Blinken also spoke with Yoav Gallant, the defense secretary Israel «to reaffirm our strong support for Israel in combating these threats.»

Open war between Israel and Iran would be an unprecedented escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran. Israel and Hamas are the Iranian-backed terrorist group in the Gaza Strip behind the October 7 massacre.