West Asia on edge as fears of Iran’s retaliation loom 

West Asia on edge amid fears of imminent Iran attack on Israel, with global travel alerts issued.

West Asia continued to stay on edge on April 12 amid fears of an imminent attack by Iran targeting Israel in retaliation against the April 1 air strike on Iran’s consular annex in Damascus, Syria, with several countries, including India, the U.S. Russia and France issuing travel and security alerts to their citizens.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed to punish the “evil regime” of Israel after the attack on the consular building in which Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a high-ranking commander of the Quds Force, the elite foreign operational wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was assassinated. Iran and Syria immediately blamed Israel for the strike. Israel has neither confirmed nor dismissed its role in the attack.

“The question is not if but when. The Supreme Leader, the government and senior military leaders have all warned that a response is coming. Iran cannot back off this time,” a strategic analyst based in Tehran with close links to the regime told The Hindu on the phone, requesting anonymity.

On Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian reiterated that Iran’s response was necessary. “When the Israeli regime completely violates the immunity of individuals and diplomatic places in violation of international law and the Vienna Conventions, legitimate defence is a necessity,” Mr. Abdollahian told his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in a phone call, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.

In Israel, political leaders as well as military and diplomatic officials said they were ready for any scenario. Asked if it was Israel that carried out the attack, Michael Ronen, head of South and Southeast Asia Division at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “They say Israel carried out the strike. Well, I don’t know. What I can say is that Israel is ready for any response from Iran.”

American media reported on Friday citing U.S. and Iranian sources that an Iranian attack could come within the next 48 hours. Mr. Khamenei is considering different options, from launching direct air strikes on Israel from Iran to attacking Israeli assets in the region either directly or through proxies, according to these reports. Israeli leaders have warned that they will strike inside Iran if the origin of the attack is Iran.

“Iran is the source of all problems in the Middle East. Hamas, Houthis, Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad... What do all these terrorist entities have in common? Iran is the godfather of all of them,” Yossi Zilberman, deputy spokesperson of the MFA, told The Hindu here. “Iran is the puppeteer. Unless Iran is reined in, there won’t be peace in the Middle East,” he said.