After US-Iran Escalation, Israel Braces For More Empty Threats

Iran remains stretched thin militarily and economically, and its allies in the region face their own difficulties, making attacks on Israel less likely.

Tel Aviv, January 9 – IDF and government officials maintained a heightened state of alert today in the wake of Iranian ballistic missile attacks on Iraqi bases housing US troops Tuesday night, anticipating that Tehran will issue blustery statements naming locations within the Jewish State as its next targets, statements it will then fail to back up with attacks.

Ministry of Defense personnel and military senior commands conducted consultations overnight as the missiles struck two bases in Iraq, causing no US casualties, and intermittently through Wednesday and Thursday. Intelligence and operations personnel agreed Israel must prepare itself to receive a barrage of empty threats from the ayatollahs of Iran and its proxies in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, various forces in Syria, and the Iran-supported Sunni groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

Iran had promised bloody retaliation for the killing by US drone-fired missiles of Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Republic’s Quds Force – the regime’s principle organ for arming, training, and coordinating its various proxy militias throughout the Middle East. 11 missiles from Iran struck the Erbil and Assad bases in Iraq, of a total of 15 launched; four exploded en route. Tensions remain high, with observers unsure whether Iran will consider the strikes sufficient retribution or pursue a bloodier outcome, considering no US personnel came to harm. Previous moves against US interests have targeted American allies via proxy forces, but Iran remains stretched thin militarily and economically, and its allies in the region face their own difficulties, making attacks on Israel less likely.

A spokesman for the Israeli military sought to make the populace aware of the anticipated bluster. “We encourage citizens to go about their routines but remain vigilant,” stated Col. Nammer Niyar in an interview on Voice of Israel radio. “Israelis are resilient, because we are, unfortunately, practiced in handling situations such as this, and we expect to emerge stronger as a country and as a society from the oncoming storm of empty threats.”

Col. Niyar refused to confirm rumors that the IDF is testing technology to interdict empty threats. “I can neither confirm nor deny that the earthquake near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility yesterday has anything to do with us,” he cautioned. “The same holds true for the Ukrainian passenger jet that crashed in Tehran at around the same time, killing 179 of the 180 people on board. It would be irresponsible to connect those dots under these circumstances in such a public manner.”

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