Israel’s expected attack against Iran will likely target military sites, The New York Times reported Monday, citing Israeli officials.
The report said Israel’s initial response to Iran’s missile barrage that was launched in retaliation for Israeli escalations could also target intelligence sites and Iranian leadership. If Iran hits back, then Israel might target Iran’s civilian nuclear facilities, although Israel isn’t expected to be able to do much damage to any of the underground facilities without US support.
The US appears to favor Israel striking military sites as President Biden has called for a “proportionate” response to the Iranian attack, which targeted Israeli military bases. Bide has cautioned against targeting nuclear sites or oil infrastructure, although at one point, he said the US and Israel were discussing the idea of hitting Iranian oil fields.
The US has been looking to control Israel’s attack on Iran and reportedly offered “compensation” if Israel only hit US-approved targets. According to Israeli media, the compensation would include full diplomatic support and a new weapons package.
The US has also pledged to defend Israel from any Iranian retaliation and has deployed more military assets to the Middle East for that purpose. Iran has been warning that it would respond to any Israeli strikes on its territory, and Israeli officials have acknowledged that an attack could lead to a full-blown war, which would involve the US.
