- Israeli PM Netanyahu warned Iran of unprecedented force if it attacks Israel
- Netanyahu said Iran faces irreversible consequences in any future conflict
- US moving USS Abraham Lincoln strike group toward Middle East amid tensions
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Iran of an "attack of unprecedented force" if Tehran were to strike Israel amid regional tensions. Netanyahu, addressing the Knesset-- the Israeli Parliament-- said Tel Aviv was "closely" monitoring Iran as it returned to uneasy calm after a wave of protests that drew a bloody crackdown.
"If it makes a mistake and attacks us, we will act with a force it has not yet experienced," Netanyahu said, according to a report by news agency Xinhua.
The Israeli leader said he was "closely" monitoring Iran, warning that "no one can predict what the future holds for Iran, but it will not return to what it once was," implying irreversible consequences for Tehran in any conflict.
The remarks came amid reports suggesting the United States was moving the nuclear-powered USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group toward the Middle East after a standoff with the Iranian theocratic regime over its bloody crackdown on anti-government protestors.
Situation In Iran
A crackdown on demonstrators taking part in nationwide protests in Iran killed at least 4,029 people, activists said Tuesday. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said more than 26,000 people have also been detained in the crackdown.
It said of the dead, 3,786 were demonstrators, 180 were security forces, 28 were children, and 35 were people not demonstrating.
It fears many more may have been killed. The agency has been accurate in previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists on the ground to confirm each death. NDTV has been unable to independently assess the death toll in part due to the government shutting down the internet in Iran.
US Weapons In Middle East
Meanwhile, tensions remain high between the United States and Iran over the crackdown after President Donald Trump drew two red lines for the Islamic Republic – the killing of peaceful protesters and Tehran conducting mass executions in the wake of the demonstrations. A US aircraft carrier, which days earlier had been in the South China Sea, passed Singapore overnight to enter the Strait of Malacca – putting it on a route that could bring it to the Middle East.
As tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington, ship-tracking data analysed by the AP on Monday showed the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, as well as other American military vessels, in the Strait of Malacca after passing Singapore on a route that could take them to the Middle East.
The Lincoln had been in the South China Sea with its strike group as a deterrent to China over tensions with Taiwan. Tracking data showed that the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., the USS Michael Murphy and the USS Spruance, all Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, were travelling with the Lincoln through the Strait.
Multiple US media reports quoting anonymous officials have said the Lincoln, which has its homeport in San Diego, was on its way to the Mideast. It likely would still need several days of travel before its aircraft would be in range of the region. The Mideast has been without an aircraft carrier group or an amphibious ready group, likely complicating any discussion of a military operation targeting Iran, given Gulf Arab states' broad opposition to such an attack.
