Israel Bracing For Iranian Retaliation To Embassy Drone Strike

There is increasing media speculation that the Israeli gov't is preparing itself for an Iranian backlash to a drone strike on its consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus. Israel has neither denied nor accepted responsibility for the attack that killedseven seniorIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force members. The funerals for the seven will be on 5 April, marking the 'Iranian Quds Day', an annual pro-Palestinian anti-Israeli event that takes place on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The IRGC has signaled that it intends to retaliate to the attack following the funerals.

• Israel in turn hasraised its alert levels, with GPS signals scrambled over Tel Aviv, combat soldiers ordered to remain on bases, military leave cancelled, and air defences placed at their highest alert.
• It is not just the killing of IRGC figures that has raised regional tensions (given that other senior officials have previously been hit by air or drone strikes), but that it took place in an annex to the Iranian consulate, deemed under international law to by sovereign Iranian territory. As such, the Iranian response could prove more drastic than those that have followed other attacks on Hezbollah/IRGC figuresin Syria.
• There are likely to prove various levels of potential retaliation, ranging from 'lower level' attacks on Mossad or other Israeli-linked targets in countries such as Iraq, through to majorly escalatory attacks on Israel itself.