In anticipation of the Israeli response to the Iranian attack, the pro-Iranian militias in Syria took a “strange” decision to temporarily stop operating.
Sources from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the leadership of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard granted a week’s leave to all leaders and administrators within all its headquarters and military sites in the city of Deir ez-Zor and its countryside.
It was also decided to grant leave to those responsible for the Iranian cultural centers spread across the city of Deir ez-Zor, the cities of Al-Bukamal and Al-Mayadeen, and the town of Hatla, for fear of Israeli bombing.
Tension and mobilization prevail between the pro-Iranian militias within the areas under their control, all the way to Deir ez-Zor and its countryside, to the Syrian-Iraqi border, and several other areas.
Israel is preparing to respond
The American website Axios confirmed that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday that Israel has no choice but to respond to the unprecedented Iranian attack.
Sources explained to the website that Gallant told Austin in a phone call that Israel cannot allow ballistic missiles to be launched on its territory without a response.
Galant added that Israel will not accept an equation in which Iran responds with a direct attack every time Israel strikes targets in Syria.
The sources said that Austin conveyed a message similar to the one presented by US President Joe Biden to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening, when he told him of the need to do everything possible to avoid further escalation in the region.
What happened?
On Saturday night, Iran launched the first direct military operation of its kind against Israel, using more than 300 drones and missiles, in response to the strike attributed to Israel that targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus, and led to the killing of leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Israeli defenses responded to 99 percent of Iranian marches and missiles. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, considered that the attack fully achieved its goals.
