Jan 11 (Reuters) – Israel is on high alert over the possibility of U.S. intervention in Iran as authorities face the largest anti-government protests in years, according to three Israeli sources familiar with the matter.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in recent days and warned Iran’s rulers not to use force against demonstrators. On Saturday, Trump said the United States “stands ready to help.”
Sources present at Israeli security consultations over the weekend did not elaborate on what Israel’s high alert status would actually mean. A 12-day war broke out between Israel and Iran in June, with the United States joining Israel in conducting air strikes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the possibility of U.S. intervention in Iran during a phone call on Saturday, according to Israeli sources who were present on the call. A U.S. official confirmed the two had spoken but did not say what topics they discussed.
Israel has yet to signal a willingness to intervene in Iran as protests sweep the country, with tensions between the two old foes high over Israel’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
In an interview with The Economist on Friday, Netanyahu said that if Iran attacked Israel, there would be dire consequences. “Everything else, I think we should look at what’s going on inside Iran,” he said of the protests.
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub and Maayan Lubell; Editing by William Mallard)
