Tel Aviv and Tehran Raise Military Alert Level

SadaNews - Days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the army is prepared to confront attempts by Iran to rebuild its missile and nuclear capabilities, Colonel Shlomi Ben Ya'ir, commander of the rescue forces in the Israeli army's civil defense front, announced that his forces are ready to face any dangers arising from a potential war with Tehran.

Ben Ya'ir said during a meeting with soldiers who expressed discontent over bearing heavy field burdens, that "his forces are preparing these days for another round of war with Iran."

According to the newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth," "this round can always come unexpectedly, and we are fully prepared to face it, not just in traditional readiness."

This unit is a "rescue force" consisting of only 250 personnel, but it receives significant support in the army; as its members face horrific scenes in war, specializing in rescuing those trapped under rubble, often encountering corpses and human remains.

Over the past two years, this force has undergone extremely harsh experiences at multiple sites and fronts, from Tel Aviv to tents in southern Lebanon, reaching Rafah in the Gaza Strip, under immense field pressures. For these reasons, its members are demanding longer vacations and better financial rewards.

This comes after Netanyahu made several statements last week, not ruling out "the possibility that Iran might launch a surprise attack as a form of retaliation." He said, "This requires us to be fully vigilant, and we are prepared for every scenario," adding with a subtly threatening tone, "and the Iranians are also preparing for various scenarios - but I will not elaborate."

A fragile ceasefire ended a 12-day war in June, which began with Israeli airstrikes followed by a U.S. bombardment of three underground Iranian nuclear sites using bunker-busting munitions. The war claimed the lives of several senior leaders of the "Revolutionary Guard" and nuclear scientists.

In related news, the newspaper "Maariv" published a report last Tuesday, stating that "the Israeli army fears a scenario in which Iran takes a rapid military step in the near future, even before the operation to occupy the city of Gaza, aiming to formulate a new narrative about the end of the war."

On Friday, "Yedioth Ahronoth" revealed that Israeli leaders are increasingly worried about Chinese military support for Iran, and the information coming to them regarding Tehran renewing its stockpile of ballistic missiles. The newspaper stated that Tel Aviv conveyed a message regarding this to Beijing, which in turn denied supplying Iran with missiles.

The newspaper noted that the Israeli army has modified its combat doctrine, placing special priority on the principle of "preemptive strikes"; meaning it will not wait to be attacked but will initiate strikes first.

In this context, military sources revealed that the army conducted a surprise drill last Monday, directly supervised by Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, which included two parallel axes: the first, sending a message to Iran and "Hezbollah" that "Israel does not sleep except with one eye open"; and the other, testing and raising the readiness of army systems and the "Mossad" and "Shin Bet" to the highest levels of alert.

The newspaper "Maariv" reported that the army and security apparatus in Israel are preparing for the possibility of Iran launching a sudden large-scale attack against Israel, on multiple fronts and in various scenarios. It added that "Iran and (Hezbollah) are currently at a crucial crossroads; the war against Israel has changed (Hezbollah's) status within Lebanon, as it has also affected the standing of the Iranian regime inside Iran. They now need to formulate a new narrative before both domestic and international audiences, indicating they have not lost the war."

The newspaper continued: "Regarding Iran, Israel is monitoring several alarming trends in the Iranian arena; the first is the Iranian regime's efforts to rebuild nuclear infrastructure and produce ballistic missiles, and the second is Tehran's efforts to discover Israeli intelligence penetration capabilities, as it invests significant resources in this area domestically while challenging Israel through daily cyber attacks."

It added that the "Mossad" (external intelligence) and "Shin Bet" (internal security) are currently dealing with a huge amount of warnings regarding intentions to carry out attacks against Israelis, Israeli representations, and its symbols worldwide. It also indicated that there are Israeli concerns about the opening of new fronts from Syria and Jordan, in addition to the incitement carried out by the Houthis in Yemen.

Military sources in Tel Aviv said on Friday that the visit of Iranian National Security Council Chairman Ali Larijani to Beirut this week, followed by statements from Hezbollah's Secretary General Naim Qassem, along with renewed threats from the Houthis to bombard Israel, indicate that Iran "is hiding something," considering it the "mastermind behind everyone," and that it is not out of the question for Israel to target it directly.

In Tehran, informed sources told "Asharq Al-Awsat" that the Iranian "Revolutionary Guard" issued orders to mobilize all of its units across the country, especially during the 72 hours following the "Arbaeen of Hussein" ceremonies that conclude on Friday.

The sources stated that the authorities expect infrastructure facilities and power stations to be at the top of the potential targets of the Israeli attack. They noted that the "Revolutionary Guard" also instructed its units to focus on quelling any possible disturbances in the streets.

According to the sources, the authorities did not rule out the possibility of a new attack at the end of September to disrupt the educational system, which begins the school year on September 23.

These developments followed Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz renewing his threat to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in response to a chart published by channels affiliated with the "Quds Force" - the external arm of the "Revolutionary Guard" - in Hebrew, which contained a list of names of several senior Israeli officials targeted for assassination, including Katz, who was described in the chart as the "Minister of Terror."

Netanyahu stated on Thursday evening that the Israeli-American war against Iran two months ago succeeded in delaying the Iranian nuclear program for several good years. He is now in a position that does not allow them to advance the plan they wanted to develop." He added during an interview with Israeli "i24 News" that "they still have 400 kilograms of enriched uranium. We were previously informed that the uranium would not be affected, but that is not a sufficient condition to make a nuclear bomb."

In response to a question about whether he is interested in Israel destroying the stockpile of enriched uranium in Iran, Netanyahu answered: "Yes, but I will not go into details on this matter, and we are monitoring the issue with seven eyes together with our American friends." He continued, "We are always prepared for a potential Iranian operation, especially any attempt to rebuild their nuclear program again. I have said that we have uprooted this cancer. The two cancerous tumors that threaten our existence: the cancer of the nuclear program to make an atomic bomb, and the cancer of the plan to create 20,000 deadly ballistic missiles, which pose an existential threat."