It’s widely regarded as inevitable that Israel will be retaliating against Iran for its October 1 missile strikes, and while the exact timing of such an attack is not publicly known, there are plenty of signs that it could happen quite soon – and now Russia has issued a strongly worded warning against an Israeli strike.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel’s response would come “soon" and would be “precise and deadly.” It is believed the attack will take place some time before Americans head to the polls on November 5, possibly in a bid to keep the topic of Middle East volatility on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots.
With the U.S. election now just weeks away, Russia is one of a handful of countries sounding alarm bells over a potential strike. This week, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov made it clear that Russia expects Israel to stay far away from nuclear infrastructure or nuclear energy sites in Iran.
He was quoted by Russian state-owned news agency TASS as saying: "We have repeatedly warned and continue to warn, to caution [Israel] against even hypothetically considering the possibility of a strike on nuclear facilities and nuclear infrastructure [of Iran]. This would be a catastrophic development and a complete negation of those postulates in the area of ensuring nuclear safety that exist."
It is not clear how Russia has sent this message to Israel, who has long operated on the assumption that Iran is in the process of developing nuclear bombs.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed a similar sentiment at a news conference in Laos recently, where he pointed out that the International Atomic Energy Agency hasn’t reported any signs of Iran’s nuclear program being militarized.
“We prefer to be guided by facts. In almost every country, there are politicians and parliamentarians who express positions that do not reflect the practical strategy or actual policies of their governments. We’ve seen this many times before,” he stated.
“If any plans or threats to attack the Islamic Republic of Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities are realized, it would indeed be a very serious provocation.”
It's not a surprising stance considering the increasingly close ties between the two countries, particularly when it comes to economic and military concerns.
U.S. is actively discouraging Israel from targeting Iranian nuclear sites
The U.S. has also been discouraging Israel from targeting nuclear sites, and although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly assured the White House that they will limit their attacks to Iranian military sites, it appears that Israel has not completely ruled such targets out yet.
Warnings are also coming directly from Iran, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warning UN head Antonio Guterres that Israel can expect a “decisive and regretful” response should they carry out a retaliatory attack. He also asked the UN to “stop the crimes and aggressions of the Israeli regime and to send humanitarian aid to Lebanon and Gaza.”
Reports in Israeli media indicate that the military has already decided on its targets and has provided a list to Netanyahu. They are reportedly already finalizing their plans and conducting “sensitive coordination” with their neighbors.
They claim that Israel has outlined its overall attack plans to the U.S. but did not provide American officials with any specifics, although it is believed their targets could well change at the last minute.
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