Iran could launch retaliatory strikes on Israel 'within days': reports

Iran is planning to carry out retaliatory attacks on Israel "within days", according to various US media reports on Thursday.

Axios, citing Israeli intelligence sources, claimed the attack was likely to come from Iraqi territory before the US presidential election on 5 November.

The alleged retaliation will see Iran mobilise its proxy forces in Iraq, using large numbers of drones and ballistic missiles.

On Thursday, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Hossein Salami said that Israel "made a mistake" in its recent attack on Iran and emphasised that Iran's response will be "different from any scenario" Israel might anticipate, Axios reports.

This comes after CNN reported Wednesday that Iran would carry out a “definitive and painful” response to Israel’s recent attack, citing a high-ranking source. The source on Wednesday did not provide an exact date for the expected attack but said it “will probably take place before the day of the US presidential election.”

Israeli military sources also confirmed to CNN that they were at a “high level of readiness” in case Iran did strike imminently.

On the same day, The New York Times reported that two high-level Iranian officials confirmed that Iran was planning a response to Israel’s attack on the country last week.

“Iran’s response to the Zionist aggression is definite,” said General Ali Fadavi, the deputy commander of the IRGC, as quoted by the NYT citing Iranian media.

The head of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s office, Gholamhossein Mohammadi Golpayegani, also said on Thursday that Iran planned to deliver “a fierce, tooth-breaking response” to Israel’s “desperate action,” according to Tasnim, the semi-official news agency affiliated with the IRGC.

Iran and Israel’s most recent tit-for-tat began when Israel assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in May, constituting an act of war against the Islamic Republic.

On the 1st of October, Iran launched a retaliatory attack on Israel, firing around 200 ballistic missiles at military targets around Israel.

Last Thursday, Israel struck back, launching its first-ever openly acknowledged attack on Iran, targeting Iranian military facilities, but refraining from hitting nuclear and oil facilities in the country.

The exchanges between Iran and Israel come on the back of Tel Aviv expanding its war throughout the region, waging devastating wars on Gaza and Lebanon, while also striking Syria, Iraq and Yemen, as well as Iran.

The tit-for-tat between two major powers like Iran and Israel has raised fears of an all-out regional war between the two countries.