Iran Tries to Calibrate Response Against Israel After Deadly Bombing

A senior Iranian official pushed back against domestic pressure on the country’s military to strike quickly and hard against Israel, suggesting that Tehran is trying to balance those demands against U.S. warnings as it decides how to retaliate against an attack in Syria in which it says Israel killed one of its top generals.

Iran has vowed to respond in kind to what it says was an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian consulate building in Damascus, which killed seven Revolutionary Guard members, including the general. The U.S. has said it would throw its full support behind Israel if Iran attacks it.

“Some ask why the Islamic Republic does not take revenge,” said Mojtaba Zonnour, a conservative cleric and head of the Iranian parliament’s national-security and foreign-policy committee, whose statements often reflect the views of the security establishment.

Any decision to take action against Israel “should be based on national interests and security, not public demands,” Zonnour said, addressing a conference in Tehran, according to the semiofficial ILNA news agency. He added that a response would come eventually. “Maybe sooner, maybe later, but it will happen,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Iranian navy early on Saturday seized an Israeli-linked containership sailing under a Portuguese flag in the Strait of Hormuz, indicating one type of measure Tehran might take in the coming days.

Warning that an Iranian attack could be imminent, the U.S. on Friday rushed warships into position to protect Israel and American forces in the region, hoping to head off a direct Iranian attack on Israel that could spark a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Pressure has been building on the Iranian leadership to respond to the Syria strike, both from hard-liners bent on avenging one of the most serious attacks on Iranian personnel in recent years, and from parts of the public who want the military to stand up to Israel.

In recent days, some Iranians have begun mocking the military and the leadership for not taking action despite numerous threats, including by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, to avenge the strike in Damascus.

“Israel, they don’t have the balls to seek revenge,” read a fresh piece of graffiti on a wall in Tehran, referring to the government. “Hit them harder next time, Israel, they have wet their pants,” read another.

Other residents of Tehran said they were mostly worried that a conflagration with Israel would pile further pressure on the country’s sanctions-squeezed economy, and questioned the value of spending billions of dollars on foreign military ventures if the country can’t defend itself against Israeli attacks.

Iranian state news agency IRNA said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz had boarded the Portugal-flagged MSC Aries by helicopter and were directing it to Iranian territorial waters.

The Aries is connected to a London shipping company controlled by an Israeli family. The incident marked the first time Iran has seized a large ship since January. MSC, the Greek company managing the Aries, confirmed the vessel had been seized, adding that the ship had 25 crew members on board and that it was “working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure their wellbeing, and safe return of the vessel.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the European Union, of which Portugal is a member, to declare the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, which the Trump administration did in 2019.

Israel’s military remained on high alert on Saturday for a major attack by Iran or one the regional militias it arms and funds, such as the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has been exchanging fire with Israel since October.

Iran’s arsenal of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles have long concerned Israel and the West. Israel’s multi-layer aerial-defense system has shown itself capable of defending the country against individual or small volleys of incoming drones and missiles. But officials and analysts say it could potentially be overwhelmed by a sufficiently large swarm of drones or a massive missile barrage.

“If they send many, they can saturate the system,” said Yehoshua Kalisky, a weapons-systems researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies.

A large-scale Iranian missile attack on Israel would almost certainly trigger a heavy Israeli response, taking the Middle East to the brink of a bigger war.

Israel’s defense minister said earlier this week that Israel would mount a powerful response to any attack on its soil.

“Iran will bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Saturday, adding that Israel “is prepared for all scenarios and will take the necessary steps—together with our allies—to protect the people of Israel.”

U.S. Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, remained in Israel on Saturday after conducting joint assessments with the head of the Israeli military and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday.

An Israeli defense official said Saturday that the country was planning for all possible Iranian responses, including an attack on Israeli soil. “We’re preparing for all options,” the official said.

Israel’s military said it attacked a large Hezbollah military complex in Lebanon on Saturday morning, after more than 40 projectiles were launched across the Lebanese border into Israel on Friday night, according to the military.

The Israeli military also said it destroyed rockets in the Gaza Strip that it said were poised to launch at central Israel. Iran supports Hamas and other Palestinian militants in Gaza.

Adding to the unrest, Israeli settlers rioted in Palestinian villages in the Israeli-occupied West Bank after a 14-year-old Israeli Jewish boy was found dead in the area on Saturday. The boy was found after a daylong search. Israeli authorities described his death as the result of a terrorist attack.

Settlers attacked the Palestinian West Bank town of Duma with arson and gunfire on Saturday, according to Israeli human-rights organization Yesh Din, which also reported settler violence in the Palestinian town of Al-Mughayyir the night before.

Israeli security forces have kept a tight grip on Palestinian militancy in the West Bank, but have been slow to respond to settler violence. Saturday’s violence risks an escalation of clashes in the West Bank, where Hamas has repeatedly called on Palestinians to take up arms against Israel.

Aresu Eqbali, Benoit Faucon and Saleh al-Batati contributed to this article.

Write to Sune Engel Rasmussen at [email protected]