The newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" published an article stating that Israel must increase its defensive activity significantly to counter the recent Iranian threats, especially following the assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guard leader Mohammad Reza Zahidi after an attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria days ago. The report indicated that Israel needs to defend itself and knows how to respond appropriately to any retaliatory actions from the Iranian axis when that occurs. An Israeli official was quoted as saying that "Iranian threats should not be underestimated, even though the method Iran will choose to respond is not yet known."
"Yedioth Ahronoth" mentioned that prior to considering response options, Israeli air forces had raised their alert levels further while enhancing their air defense systems. It added, "Israel has the best air defense formation in the world, which has astonished the Iranians with its performance, mainly based on the Arrow system that the Iranians are trying to study. Additionally, the Iron Dome system has upgraded its capabilities in this war by using interception missiles intelligently as part of a weapons economy."
### Iranian Information
An Iranian group close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced that Quds Force commander Mohammad Reza Zahidi, recently assassinated by Israel at the consulate in Damascus, participated in the development of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. Zahidi, the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (elite military units), was killed this week in an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate. He was directly involved in developing and executing the Al-Aqsa Flood operation carried out by Hamas's military wing against Israel in October.
This was stated by the Coalition of Islamic Revolution Forces, a conservative group affiliated with figures close to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This coalition, which includes the extremist wing of political and religious figures, won a significant number of seats in the Iranian parliamentary elections and the Assembly of Experts elections held on March 1.
The group noted, "The Iranians have several options for retaliation, starting from a direct missile attack on Israel from their territory, through activating their agents in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq, to using Hezbollah, which has thus far avoided conducting a direct attack toward Israel." The report did not rule out the scenario of Iran harming Israeli officials or Israeli embassies around the world and added, "In any case, this is the most painful strike for the Iranians. Zahidi's assassination is the strongest attack on the most important Iranian figure after Qassem Soleimani, who built their strength in Syria and Lebanon against Israel. What has happened also represents a severe blow to Hezbollah, as since the assassination of leader Imad Mughniyeh, the party has not had an actual chief of staff, and Zahidi was the one who supported Hezbollah's Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah."
The report also pointed out that "it is surprising that after a wave of assassinations in Syrian territory in recent weeks, Zahidi chose to move to Damascus while other Iranian advisors were leaving and retreating." It concluded, "Therefore, Israel must now play strongly in defense and know how to respond appropriately to any act of retaliation, if and when it occurs."
