Iran has decided to attack Israel, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Monday amid an intense diplomatic push to avoid any further military action that could spark a direct war between the Islamic Republic and the Jewish state, The Jerusalem Post reports.
Iran’s message was delivered to Israel by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who called Katz to explain that he had received this information from acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri.
“Iran has informed us that it intends to attack Israel,” Katz said.
“The world should exact a price from Iran for any aggressive action it carries out,” he added.
In a conversation Bagheri held with his Bahraini counterpart, Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani, he spoke about his country’s determination to respond to the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.
The United States said it believed an Iranian attack could come within the next 48 hours. There is a fear that Iran could coordinate its attack with its proxy groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and others in Syria and Iraq.
Israel has claimed responsibility for the attack last week that killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
US President Joe Biden was expected to meet Monday afternoon with his national security team to discuss the situation. US CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla visited Israel on Monday and met with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi.
