President Donald Trump offered a direct message of reassurance to Israel on Wednesday evening as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran raised fears of a wider regional escalation.
Speaking briefly by phone with Israel’s Channel 12, Trump said Israel had no reason to be concerned as the confrontation with Tehran intensified.
“Israel should not worry. You know why? Because I’m the president, and I will take care of Israel.”
The president’s remarks followed a new wave of U.S. military strikes against targets belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with attacks reported around Qeshm Island, Chabahar and Bandar Abbas, including locations near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command said the military operation got underway at noon Eastern Time. According to CENTCOM, the strikes followed recent attempts by the IRGC to attack commercial vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as attempted attacks against American military personnel stationed in the region.
CENTCOM said American forces struck a range of Iranian military infrastructure, including air-defense positions, radar installations, maritime facilities and assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. action came in retaliation for an Iranian attempt to deploy sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz and for an Iranian missile attack targeting a U.S. military base in Jordan.
The president warned Tehran against responding to the American operation, saying that any retaliation would prompt U.S. strikes “at a much harder and higher level,” and adding that an even more extensive attack was “waiting in the wings.”
Iran nevertheless responded by firing ballistic missiles toward American military installations in Jordan. Jordan’s military said 13 ballistic missiles were launched toward the country, with its defenses intercepting 10. The other three missiles exploded in locations away from populated areas.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters that there were no injuries among American personnel stationed in Jordan.
Reports in Iranian media later claimed that drones had been used to attack a U.S. military base in Bahrain, although the claim was not officially confirmed. Explosions were also reported in Kuwait, where the country’s military said its air-defense systems were responding to Iranian ballistic missiles and drones.
Before Iran’s retaliation, Iranian Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia had pledged that Tehran would answer the American attacks, describing the coming response as “swift, crushing and widespread.”
Trump, meanwhile, pushed back against a report suggesting that the military campaign was designed to pressure Tehran into returning to negotiations with Washington.
“I’m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table, as ABC Fake News reported. I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing,” he added.
The latest outbreak of hostilities comes amid warnings from Israeli security officials that the possibility of another direct escalation between Israel and Iran has been growing.
Defense Minister Yisroel Katz said Wednesday that intensifying economic pressure on Tehran, coupled with increasing internal and regional tensions surrounding the Iranian regime, could ultimately prompt Iran to initiate an open military confrontation with Israel.
Katz said Israel is prepared for that scenario and is coordinating closely with Washington.
“We are prepared for both defense and offense, in coordination with the United States,” he said.
“If they attack because of Lebanon, because of Samaria, because of Gaza, or simply because they feel like it, our planes are ready to take off.”
{Matzav.com}
