Israel ready to strike Iran, awaiting ‘green light’ from Trump

Tehran has prepared retaliatory plans if Israel attacks its nuclear sites, a senior Iranian official said.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel has completed preparations for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities and is ready to strike once President Donald Trump gives his approval, senior American and European diplomats told the New York Times on Wednesday.

Experienced U.S. and European officials expressed to the Times that the likelihood of an imminent Israeli strike on Iran is believed to be very high.

An Iranian official told the Times that Tehran has already devised plans for retaliatory strikes on Israel, should Jerusalem target the Islamic Republic’s nuclear assets.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media platform X that any future sanctions lobbied against Iran for continuing uranium enrichment or refusing to agree to a new nuclear deal “will compel Iran to react STRONGLY.”

American embassies and consulates within striking distance of Iranian missile fire — namely, in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe — are currently undergoing emergency drills, simulating scenarios in which they are attacked by Tehran, according to a Washington Post report.

Missions within this broad geographical region have been ordered by the State Department to convene their Emergency Action Committees (EACs), in order to prepare for a number of potential crises.

The Post reported that the EACs were also ordered to send cables back to Washington detailing their plans for emergency scenarios, including practical strategies for minimizing risk to embassy staff.

Confirming reports that the U.S. had evacuated its embassy in Baghdad, an anonymous State Department official said that “based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our mission in Iraq.”

The official added that the State Department is “constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies.”

The U.S. also permitted departures for non-essential embassy staff and their families from Kuwait and Bahrain on Wednesday.

“We are watching and worried,” a senior diplomat in the region told the Post. “We think it’s more serious than any other time in the past.”