Israel was expecting Iran to launch a ballistic missile strike against it at press time on Sunday night, though the time of the attack was still unclear, and US President Donald Trump had been trying to convince the Islamic regime to sit out this round.
The IDF is ready for such a potential Iranian ballistic missile attack in the coming hours, and the home front should be on high alert, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Sunday at 5:07 p.m.
Zamir acknowledged that the attack would be a retaliation for the IDF’s airstrikes in Beirut earlier Sunday, which itself was in retaliation for Hezbollah drone launches against Israeli towns in northern Israel.
A statement said that Zamir was getting running updates on the heightened security situation.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials told The Jerusalem Post that if Iran launches an attack, Israel will respond.
“There is no scenario in which Iran fires at us and Israel does not respond. That would be unthinkable,” one Israeli official said.
It is expected that if Iran attacks, as it did with around 25 missiles last week, which did not cause any deaths, Israel would respond with airstrikes, as it did with two waves of dozens of fighter jets last week.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the Security Cabinet on Sunday evening, the Post learned.
Ahead of the meeting, ministers acknowledged that efforts to separate the Lebanese front from Iran have failed, at least for now.
A US-Iran MoU is an "if' not "when" Israeli ministers said following the security cabinet meeting.
Trump’s comments criticizing Israel’s strikes on Dahiyeh were “normalizing attacks against a sovereign state,” one official said.
It is also expected that Trump would step in after a relatively short time and that a larger war would not be reignited.
There is still a high probability that at some point in the relatively near future, Trump will reach a new deal with Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz and nuclear issues standoffs.
Due to the seemingly rapid advance of Trump’s nuclear talks, Israeli officials were somewhat caught by surprise by the chain of events.
The Post understands that some Israeli officials believed that Iran would not fire on Israel again at this point after Israel fired on Beirut due to Hezbollah firing on northern Israel, even though the Islamic regime did so last week and said it would continue to do so.
Iran's finger is on the trigger
But in the meantime, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Chief Ali Abdollahi posted on X/Twitter on Saturday, following Israel’s strike on Beirut, that Iran’s “finger is on the trigger” and that Iranian forces are ready to strike “at the enemy’s heart.”
“We are waiting for the smallest mistake from the enemy to teach them an unforgettable lesson,” he added.
Later, some Iranian officials reportedly had rejected an offer from Trump for additional sanctions relief sooner if they refrained from attacking Israel.
Eyal Golan, Omer Adam cancel shows following nationwide restrictions
The concerts scheduled for Sunday by Omer Adam and Eyal Golan were canceled Sunday evening following new restrictions issued by the Home Front Command a few hours after the initial earlier IDF announcement with no restrictions.
Both singers issued messages on their Instagram accounts apologizing for the inconvenience.
“Alright, friends, I don’t know what else to tell you,” Adam said when the news about the new restrictions was announced by the IDF. “I’m here at the stadium. We’ve prepared an evening of a lifetime for you, but apparently, the Iranians have other plans for us. Apologies in advance, and I love you,” he added.
The singer also said he would update fans who held tickets, and asked the public to “not lose hope and stay safe.”
Golan also issued a similar statement, saying that he would provide details on the new concert date as soon as the guidelines allow and that all tickets would be valid for the new date. “Follow the guidelines, and may we only hear good news,” he said in his message.
The IDF’s Home Front Command issued new guidelines limiting gatherings to up to 5,000 people nationwide, with the two concerts among the main events canceled.
It was unclear whether Monday would see a regular school day or canceled or Zoom school, as occurred last week for a day, during a less than 24-hour period when Israel and Iran exchanged heavy fire of missiles versus airstrikes.