Tel Aviv on alert: Air-raid sirens may sound on the holiday...

Israel expects Iran to launch an attack today.

There is speculation that Tehran could launch a large-scale strike during the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Israeli media reports September 11–13 as the possible dates for such an attack.

The warning from the Israeli authorities has also been voiced by Defence Minister Israel Katz. Katz has not ruled out the possibility that Iran could attack during the Jewish holidays. The Israeli defence minister later told the military leadership that Iran was under severe economic pressure, claiming that this could lead Tehran to make riskier decisions.

Commenting on this possibility for TodayPress TV, military expert Elkhan Shikhaliyev said it was currently a fact, according to open sources, that the Israel-Iran confrontation was continuing and that Iran was under economic and military pressure.

However, there does not appear to be reliable information confirming that a specific Iranian strike will take place on September 11–13:

“These dates are currently more of a hypothetical scenario being discussed in the Israeli media. Therefore, it would not be correct to present it as ‘Iran will definitely attack on those days.’”

So why are the Rosh Hashanah dates attracting attention?

The expert explained it as follows:

“Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year according to the Jewish calendar. Since a large part of Israel’s population is engaged in religious and family events during the holiday, there are assumptions that Iran could consider such a time psychologically and symbolically advantageous.

On the other hand, Israel’s decision to issue such warnings in advance may not be accidental either. Several objectives are possible here:

• increasing the population’s level of preparedness;

• keeping air defence systems on high alert against possible Iranian missile and drone attacks;

• sending a deterrence message to the Iranian leadership;

• placing the political and psychological responsibility for a possible attack on Tehran in advance.

The current regional situation is particularly tense. On September 10, Israel announced that it had destroyed major underground infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and Prime Minister Netanyahu said the operation had been completed. This indicates that the confrontation with forces backed by Iran is continuing.”

E. Shikhaliyev believes that if Tehran is indeed planning a retaliatory strike, it would be difficult to determine in advance that it will necessarily take place on September 11–13:

“Judging by Iran’s previous conduct, a retaliatory strike could be carried out using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, kamikaze UAVs, or a combination of these.

The most important point is that Israel’s disclosure of specific dates is not evidence that Iran will attack on those dates. It could be a warning based on intelligence information, or it could also be an element of psychological warfare.”

Giymat Mahir