US prepares for potential Iranian retaliation after Israeli Sstrike in Syria

Shafaq News / An American official confirmed that the United States is on "extreme alert" and preparing for a potential Iranian attack targeting Israeli or American assets in the region in response to an Israeli strike that resulted in the killing of an Iranian military commander in Syria.

President Joe Biden discussed the threat posed by Iran in a phone call on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A senior official in the Biden administration mentioned that "our teams have been in regular and continuous contact since then. The United States fully supports Israel in confronting threats from Iran."

Iran renewed its threat on Friday to punish Israel during the funeral of seven officers who were killed in an airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in Syria suspected to have been carried out by Israel this week.

Among those killed in the attack was Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC).

On Friday, CNBC reported officials as saying that "Israel and the United States believe Iran is about to retaliate for the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus."

According to CNBC, "The United States has obtained intelligence indicating that Iran is planning a retaliatory attack involving a swarm of drones and cruise missiles." CNBC also pointed out that "there is another important factor unknown, which is the location from where the drones and missiles will be launched - whether from Iraq or Syria, which could prompt Tehran to deny responsibility - or from Iranian territory."

Notably, on Monday, Israel launched what could be considered its "strongest" strike against Iran in months by targeting the Iranian consulate building in Damascus with six missiles fired by F-35 fighter jets, killing Brig-Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi. According to official Iranian reports, "The Israeli military, along with its American ally, has previously targeted numerous Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq, assassinating several individuals."

Amid the recent escalation between the two parties, Iran threatens to retaliate. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi vowed, on Tuesday, that the recent airstrikes targeting the Iranian embassy in Damascus "will not pass without a response."

"Having failed to destroy the will of the resistance front, the Zionist regime (Israel) has put blind assassinations back on its agenda to save itself. It must know that it will never achieve its goals and that this cowardly crime will not go unanswered," Raisi said.

In turn, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened to "punish" Israel for targeting the Iranian embassy.

Khamenei stated, "The Zionists will regret their crime after the aggression on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, and our men will punish them."

Furthermore, Israel has conducted previous attacks against Iran's interests and proxies, even before the outbreak of the October 7 war, citing concerns that Iran and its proxies might utilize Syria as "a base for aggression" against it.