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IRAN is set to get their brutal revenge on Israel in a chilling attack as the world prepares for a devastating escalation of war.
The Royal Marines are said to be preparing a heroic “Dunkirk-esque” evacuation plan to rescue remaining Brits trapped in Iran‘s terrifying war path as the US has warned a strike is imminent and serious.
The brave marines are thought to be focused on saving thousands of Brits from the Middle East.
The West has been made to wait for almost two weeks to see how Iran reacts to the missile strike that eliminated several top brass commanders.
Tehran’s embassy in Syrian capital Damascus was destroyed in a suspected Israeli strike on April 1.
Despite Benjamin Netanyahu and his team saying they had no involvement in the targeted attack, Iran is certain the strike came from them.
Iranian leader Ebrahim Rasi said the deadly strike on Iran’s consulate building in Syria “will not go unanswered”.
As he immediately pointed the finger of blame at Israel, labelling the hit a “cowardly crime“.
This has caused powerful countries such as France, Russia, India and the Netherlands to all take extra precautions as they anticipate a brutal firefight in the already war-torn region.
THE MARINE MISSION
Marine commandos have already started strategic military operations along the Lebanese coastline as they brace for a potential maritime rescue mission.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said last night he “stands ready” to assist any Britons trapped in the Middle East.
The Foreign Office has already warned UK citizens about the dangers of an escalation of the fighting and has advised those in Lebanon to leave.
Shapps told the Daily Mail: “UK nationals in the region will be concerned by what Iran is threatening to do.
“So we stand ready to assist them.”
Before he continued: “There are plans, but they cannot be discussed for security reasons.”
Despite remaining tight-lipped, the evacuation plans are believed to be supported by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.
Given the codename Operation Meteoric, the plans have already been closely compared to those in place back in 1940.
Dubbed Operation Dynamo, hundreds of thousands of allied soldiers were saved from Dunkirk when German forces surrounded them at the start of World War II.
Now 84-years later, hopes are high for a similar successful rescue mission.
Marines from 30 Commando are thought to have already arrived in the region in recent days ready to roll out the plan.
Stranded Brits would be taken from beaches in crafts and put on Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ships in the eastern Mediterranean and ferried to safety.
THE WORLD’S REACTION
It comes as the US has moved “additional assets” to the Middle East as President Joe Biden expects the Iranian attack to come “sooner, rather than later”.
US weapons have been moved to the region to boost “deterrence efforts” and protect American forces, said an official.
The White House also labelled the threat of an imminent strike as real and viable.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called the threat “serious” as it was reported that Iran has sent a message to Washington warning them to leave the region free of troops.
It comes as tensions between Iran and the West continue to ramp up[/caption] Iranians have protested against Israel and their strong relationship with the US in recent weeks[/caption] Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly threatened to ‘punish’ Israel[/caption]At least three other countries have changed their travel advice regarding the Middle East region, including France, Russia and India.
The Netherlands has also closed its consulate in Erbil, Iraq in anticipation of Iran’s impending attack.
Fawaz Gerges, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics told Sky News, the fighting between Israel and Iran is only going to spell worldwide trouble going forward.
He said: “The war itself is escalating into multiple theatres and basically risks dragging the US and Britain into another major conflict in the Middle East.”
How Iran's attack can impact the world
Iran already sees the US and the UK as its two main enemies outside of the Middle East.
Ever since the October 7, Hamas massacre, both states have fully supported Israel in their reactionary strikes and shunned Iran and their proxies.
Iran’s closest allies include the Houthis, in Yemen have been attacking British and US ships in the red sea and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria have also been condemned for their actions.
Top US generals are in constant contact with Israel to coordinate Washington’s military responses.
As British intelligence agents regularly share information with the Israelis about potential threats.
And any further attacks could not only spell devastating civilian casualties but also batter the economic market.
An all-out war between Israel and Iran will spike oil and natural gas prices.
Other major oil producers, such as from south Iraq to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will also be at risk.
Because of the UK sanctions on Russian oil and gas exports after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Middle Eastern energy supplies have become more important than ever for the European economies.
ISRAEL VS IRAN
Israel said on Friday, around 40 rocket launches were identified crossing into Israel from Lebanon.
They announced that most were intercepted.
For decades, since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the Jewish state and the Islamic one have been at daggers drawn.
Iran’s ruling mullahs routinely chant, “Death to Israel” and deny its right to exist.
But until now they have only attacked Israel indirectly, by sending weapons and money to anti-Israeli terrorist groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip or Hezbollah in Lebanon.
These acted as proxies for Iran, enabling it to avoid a real war with Israel.
But since the April 1, bombing, tensions between the two rivals have reached boiling point.
Iran revealed its bone-chilling war chest days ago, including terrifying long-range missiles that can cross the Red Sea to pummel Israel directly.
The world is now holding its breath to see when, not if, Tehran will follow through on its repeated threats to launch a revenge strike.
Reports surfaced that Israel was even planning to strike nuclear targets in Iran if Khamenei did follow through on his threats.
Iran’s state media also ramped up tensions by releasing a propaganda video showing several missiles being launched today.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted his country is “prepared for any scenario” as they continue to fight in Gaza.
He said: “Whoever harms us, we will harm them.
“We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively.”
Situation could get a whole lot worse
By Michael Clarke, Defence & Security Expert
When the Israelis attacked the Iranian consulate in Damascus, they must have known there would be a reaction to it.
In a sense they were almost taunting the Iranians — testing how far they could push them on the assumption that they didn’t think the Iranians would react very strongly.
The Iranians always talk apocalyptically.
They make blood-curdling threats but usually carry them through at a much lower level.
They are murderous dabblers, a malign actor across the whole of the region.
But everything they do is always arm’s length and low risk.
They persuade their clients, like Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen or Hamas to undertake operations against the Americans, the British or the Israelis.
But it’s always somebody else doing the dirty work.
The reason that they only dabble is because they know they are internally insecure.
Revolution has never been very far away from modern Iran in the last 20 years. They always worry about taking on a real war in case it brings the regime down.
Are they prepared to do more this time?
I suspect not, but it’s likely one of their clients will hit Israeli interests across the region, like Israeli firms or embassies.
The whole region will be on high alert, including the British and Americans.
The Americans are fully behind the Israelis, who are warning: “If you push us too hard, we will attack straight into Iranian territory.”
If the Israelis did attack Iran directly, they would probably go after large parts of the infrastructure Iran needs for its nuclear weapons programme, something they have been itching to do for many years.
The Israeli message is: “If you give us the opportunity, we’ll be glad to do it.”
It is intended to scare the Iranians off and make them take a step back.
If that does not work, then things could be a lot more dangerous this time next week.