Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday that Iran is likely to retaliate against Israel for the recent missile attack that hit the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack that killed Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander. Reuters reported that a Lebanese security source was the first to identify Israel as responsible, but an Israeli military spokesperson responded by saying, “We do not comment on foreign media reports.”
In an interview with CNN, Esper predicted that Iran would take action against Israel, but on a limited scale to avoid a major war in the Middle East.
“They’re going to take action,” Esper said Friday. “They come to feel the need to protect their dignity, maintain trust with their agents throughout the region, and truly respond to the demands of hardliners within the theocracy who want to get something done. right.”
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Former US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper holds a press conference at the Pentagon. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“But on the other hand, they probably don’t want this to be a broader war,” he continued. “They don’t want to escalate. They know that a major conflict between Israel and the United States, let alone Israel, would be disastrous for Iran. So they target attacks on Israel, on Israeli targets. I think it will be limited.”
Iran said it reserved the right to “take a firm response” to the Israeli attack, which allegedly killed Zahedi and six other Iranian military advisers.
A senior Biden administration official told Fox News Digital that President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed the Iranian threat on Thursday.
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![Iranians participate in rally to commemorate Quds Day](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/04/1200/675/iran-anti-israel-protest.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Rally to commemorate Quds Day in Tehran, Iran, April 5, 2024, and the funeral of a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who was killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy complex in the Syrian capital Damascus. Iranians burn Israeli flags. April 5, 2024. . (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
“Since then, our teams have been in regular and ongoing contact. The United States fully supports Israel in defending it from the Iranian threat,” the official said.
Two U.S. defense officials said the posture of U.S. forces in the Middle East remains unchanged from before the Israeli bombing of Damascus. The United States is monitoring the situation in light of increased rhetoric from Iran, but has not made any changes to prepare for a significant attack.
“Nothing has changed from a power projection standpoint,” one official said.
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![Aftermath of the attack on Damascus](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/04/1200/675/GettyImages-2131312492-scaled.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Rescue workers work at the scene of an Israeli missile attack on the Iranian embassy consulate in Damascus, Syria, on April 2, 2024. The Syrian Ministry of Defense reported that Israeli forces fired a missile at around 5pm local time on Monday. It attacked from the direction of occupied Syria’s Golan Heights and targeted the Iranian embassy’s consulate in Damascus. Syria’s Health Ministry reported on Tuesday that four Syrians were killed and 13 others injured in the attack, while Iran confirmed the deaths of seven Iranians, including two commanders. (Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Israel has not accepted responsibility for the attack on the Iranian consulate, but has made several operational changes, including canceling leave for IDF personnel and calling up additional reservists to strengthen air defense systems on Israel’s northern border. The Telegraph reported that.
Israel has also suffered widespread GPS failures with the application, with some users being found in the Lebanese capital Beirut, and Israeli news agency Haaretz reporting that the app is being used to disrupt the Israeli drone threat. It was reported that this was a deliberate attempt.
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Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari reiterated the multifaceted conflict Israel is fighting, saying, “We are in a multifaceted war. We look at all our enemies, not just Hamas.” “We are looking at all fronts and all threats and preparing for all threats.” In any scenario. ”
Fox News’ Liz Friden, Fox News Digital’s Peter Aitken and Reuters contributed to this report.