Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and other Related Conflicts in the Middle East (read the rules in the first post)

Scoop: Israel sent message to Iran ahead of attack and warned against response​

Israel sent a message to Iran on Friday ahead of its retaliatory airstrikeswarning the Iranians not to respond, three sources with knowledge of the issue told Axios.

Why it matters: The Israeli message was an attempt to limit the ongoing exchange of attacks between Israel and Iran and prevent a wider escalation, the sources said.

Driving the news: U.S. and Israeli officials said three waves of airstrikes took place on Saturday morning local time.

• The first wave focused on Iran's air defense system and the second and third waves focused on missile and drone bases and weapons' productions sites.
• Iran said it defeated the Israeli attack and that only "limited damage" was done to military targets around the country.
• Israeli officials said the attack was in retaliation for Iran's massive ballistic missile attack on October 1.

Behind the scenes: The Israeli message was conveyed to the Iranians through several third parties, the sources said.

• "The Israelis made it clear to the Iranians in advance what they are going to attack in general and what they are not going to attack," one source told Axios.
• Two other sources said Israel warned the Iranians not to respond to the attack and stressed that if Iran does retaliate, Israel would conduct another more significant attack, especially if Israeli civilians are killed or injured.
• The Israeli Prime Minister's Office did not respond for a request for comment.

Iran has said it doesn't want a full-blown war with Israel but that it would retaliate if attacked.

• On Saturday, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a briefing with reporters that if Iran escalates in response to the Israeli strikes, Israel will be compelled to retaliate.
• A U.S. official said the U.S. didn't participate in the Israeli operation but that if Iran retaliates, the U.S. is ready to defend Israel against such an attack.
• "This should be the end of the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran," the official added. "If Iran attacks Israel again there will be consequences. We communicated that directly and indirectly to Iran."

What they're saying: One of the channels for conveying messages to Iran ahead of the Israeli strike was Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldcamp, one source said.

• "I spoke with the Iranian Foreign Minister about war and the heightened tensions in the region. Regarding the latter, I urged for restraint. All parties must work to prevent further escalation," Veldcamp wrote on X several hours before the Israeli attack.

What to watch: U.S. officials said they expect Iran to respond to the Israeli attack in the coming days but in a limited way that will enable Israel to stop the tit-for-tat cycle.

• "It is our aim to accelerate diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region. We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation," National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said.

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The Israeli message was an attempt to limit the ongoing exchange of attacks between Israel and Iran and prevent a wider escalation, the sources said.

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The Israelis made it clear to the Iranians in advance what they are going to attack in general and what they are not going to attack," one source told Axios.

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FriedButter said:

The supreme leader has the final say on Iran foreign policy. So the hardliners will be pressuring Khamenei with Pezeshkian and his allies advising restraint. I think Iran will probably choose not to response (or at least in a very limited way). They want to grow their relations with Russia, fostering it with BRICS, and continued normalization with the Arab/Gulf states around them. With the Israeli response being so mild, they could use it as domestic cover while saying deterrence has been established. Israel on the other hand could face domestic pressure over their lackluster response which puts the escalation ball back on their side.

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The main question is whether Iran is going to retaliate or not.

It is saying it’s entitled to defend itself. When we look at the statement, the language it is using, it is not giving us the sense that it is going to respond but not ruling out that possibility either.

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https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1850213502914351182

Iran, while reserving its legal and legitimate right to respond at an appropriate time, emphasizes the need for a sustained ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon to prevent further killing of defenseless and oppressed people.

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obj 705A said:

very weird video of the funeral of an IDF soldier who was killed in Lebanon in which his family members are crying and wailing because he died before having killed all the women & children.

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they said:
"you entered Gaza [to kill] as many women and children as you can, everyone you saw. that is what you wanted. and on this day, one year after Simchat Tora, when we thought we will massacre the enemy, massacre everyone. that we will expell them all from this land. we are here in your funeral".

what is the difference between these crazies and ISIS? even from a stereotypical pov. these are a bunch of bearded religious extremists who are wailing over how their dead psycho brother didn't get to massacre the women & children. this is ISIS, this is Daesh. can you seriously look at this and think that this is a civilized modern society?

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Sinnavuuty said:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1849780366904582312

More deployment

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SlothmanAllen said:

Is this type of activity unusual? Is it part of normal deployments, exercises or otherwise just beefing up security in relation to tensions?

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