The situation between the US and Iran is heating up again, and the whole region is on edge.
According to sources, on July 19, the Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Zamir, said the military is closely monitoring Iranian missile launches, maintaining “high readiness,” and is fully prepared to resume combat against Iran.
“Today we monitored missile launches toward the Aqaba region of Jordan, and our air defense systems have been put on alert,” Zamir stated during a military meeting. “We are ready to resume fighting immediately and will take strong action against anyone who harms us.”
The Israeli military also issued a statement on the same day, saying that after detecting Iranian missiles heading toward Jordan, they fired several interceptor missiles to prevent debris from falling into Israeli territory. Some debris landed in open areas near the southern city of Eilat, close to the Jordanian border.
Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Zamir (center) / via Israeli media
Over the past week, tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran have escalated rapidly.
On July 19, a senior Israeli military official told Reuters that Israel is preparing to receive more aerial refueling tankers from the United States.
Also on July 19, the US Central Command posted on social media that two American soldiers were killed on July 17 in an Iranian attack in Jordan, and another soldier remains missing. After an extensive search, US forces discovered unidentified remains at the scene earlier on July 19.
US airstrike on the maritime tower in the southeastern port city of Chabahar, Iran / via Tasnim News Agency
That same day, the US Central Command announced in a statement that at 7:00 PM Eastern Time on July 19, the US military launched a new round of airstrikes against Iran—marking the ninth consecutive night of US strikes on the country—aimed at “further degrading Iran’s military capability to attack commercial ships and civilian mariners passing through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported that on July 19, the commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces, Ali Abdollahi, issued a statement saying that the Iranian military will deliver a “devastating response to any barbaric act” by the United States.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also stated on the same day that Tehran had long anticipated the possibility of war and has prepared detailed contingency plans for various scenarios, including a joint US-Israeli attack, and even the assassination of the Supreme Leader. He stressed that Iran is “not at all surprised” by the outbreak of conflict and is fully prepared to respond.
Araghchi added that Iran has always preferred diplomatic means to avoid the costs of war, but will not compromise its national interests under pressure.