Israel has Iran in ‘chokehold’ after revenge strike near nuke base & is ‘testing the waters’ amid fears of bigger attack

ISRAEL has Iran locked in a strategic chokehold after its precision revenge air base strike near a nuclear site and there could be more to come.

Reports have surfaced that Tel Aviv may have launched the attack as a “trap” to “test the waters” before unleashing its full revenge on Tehran.

Iranians march today with flags and banners to celebrate the April 13 attack and protest Israel

The nuclear site in Isfahan – Israel’s missile struck an air base nearby

An Iranian missile from the strike last Saturday

US officials said the Iranian army target was hit – unverified image

In the early hours of Friday a single Israeli strike hit an Iranian air force base near the City of Isfahan – next door to a nuclear site.

Iranian civilians woke up today to reports of a “micro drone” attack on the military HQ.

Western officials close to the Israeli plans revealed that the hit may only be “the first stage” in a revenge saga for Iran’s missile blitz on Israel last Saturday.

A diplomat in Lebanon told the BBC: “The strategy is: Minor attack to make Iran react for a major response on the nuclear sites”.

It comes after reports first surfaced two weeks ago that Tel Aviv had plans to strike Iranian nuclear sites.

Another Western military official believes Israel is trying to “mirror Iran and it’s allies like Hezbollah” by starting with a small attack, destroying radars and throwing out a sort of red herring.

Iranian state TV immediately launched into damage control this morning claiming it had “destroyed” three drones with its air defence batteries and no damage was caused on the ground.

One channel released footage of Isfahan’s “tranquil atmosphere” in a desperate attempt to downplay the embarrassment of Israel’s surprise ambush.

But former British Army commander and military analyst Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told The Sun why Iran has been humiliated by the attack.

Israel has Iran in a ‘chokehold’

Hamish explained that Iran’s reaction this morning is evidence that they are “no match for Israel”.

He said: “Iran fires 300 plus drones and missiles at Israel, 99.9 per cent of them get taken down.

“It would appear overnight that Israel has fired one, possibly two missiles at Iran, and they’ve got through.”

The military expert told The Sun: “Israel has got its hand around Iran’s neck, squeezing it tight enough and Iran knows that the only way to get that strangle hold off is to cease conventionally trying to attack Israel, go back to the shadows.”

“It’s one nil to Israel. And Iran, I think, knows that it’s got to accept that. Otherwise, you know, the whole place could explode.

“They are over-matched in every area. The only way they can progress is how they’ve been doing it for the last 10 or 20 years, through their terror groups and through their proxies.

“Israel, although it’s a tiny country compared to Iran it does spend almost double, if not triple, the amount on defence. The kit it has is absolutely state of the art.”

Iranian General Siavash Mihandoost told state TV today: “The sound heard early in the morning today in Isfahan was not an explosion, it was our powerful air defence firing at a suspicious object. 

He insisted: “It caused no damage or incident at all.” 

Hamish thinks the choice of target – next to a nuclear base – was “significant”.

He said: “They’ve hit their target. Near Isfahan, a very militarised city. It’s hit a base. Perhaps the Iranian revolutionary guard core. We don’t know.

“The fact that it’s close to a nuclear facility, I think is significant. I think it’s really Israeli demonstrating: ‘Yeah, we can hit anywhere.'”

Hossein Dalirian, spokesperson for the Iran’s National Centre of Cyberspace, outright denied an external Israeli attack.

He wrote on X: “There has been no air attack from outside borders to Isfahan or other parts of the country.”

But Iran’s FARS news agency did report that three explosions were heard near the military base in Isfahan.

“The defence is activated in response to an object that is likely to be a drone,” sources told the outlet.

Iranians took to the streets of Tehran in hordes today in an anti-Israel protest after last night’s strike.

AP

Iranian worshippers chant slogans during an anti-Israeli gathering after their Friday prayer in Tehran today[/caption]

Iran’s army pales in comparison to Israel’s impressive ‘state-of-the-art’ stores

‘The Iranians are very scared’

Amid conflicting reports from inside Iran this morning – it appears officials in Tehran are “very scared”.

A Middle East policy expert told Sky that the “Iranians are very scared” as the country bubbles with its own internal conflicts.

She says 90 per cent of Iranians want to “oust the regime from power that’s been torturing them for the past 45 years”.

Officials are now facing a clear indication from Israel that their military prowess pales in comparison at a time of serious domestic instability.

Explosions last night were also heard in Iraq and Syria in what appeared to be further hits on Iranian puppet terror groups across the Middle East.

Hamish said: “There were a number of other strikes overnight by Israeli air power into Syria, and also Iran striking at probably Iranian militia forces, probably radar sites.

“So again, it’s part of a complex operation. I expect the Israelis are doing to really deter Iran and also break down that capability and influence.”

This analysis could align with reports from the Western military official that Israel is targeting radar sites and proxy hubs as a first stage in its mission against Iran.

The full scale of the surprise strike – launched just hours after Israeli sources said they would hold off their response – still remains somewhat unclear.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said today he sees a future for Israel where “coalition of countries are working together to deal with the Iranian threat and to isolate it”.

Future targeting of nuclear sites

One of the reports coming from Western military officials suggested Israel could have launched its strike to provoke Iran into a reaction.

This reaction would then justify a “major response on the nuclear sites”.

One of Iran’s fortified underground nuclear plants was near the air base in Isfahan but there was no confirmation that it had been directly targeted.

But reports first surfaced almost two weeks ago that Israel could be planning to hit Iranian nuclear hubs.

Israeli forces were even said to be conducting secret air force drills in preparation for the dangerous escalation.

And the UN’s nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi warned that Israel could indeed target Iran’s nuclear sites.

Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB, vowed today that nuclear facilities in Isfahan are “completely safe.”

And international nuclear watchdog the IAEA confirmed this morning that no damage was sustained to a nuclear site.

Grossi reiterated calls for “extreme restraint” as the agency said they would continue to monitor the situation closely.

Hamish told The Sun: “If Israel wanted to throw the kitchen sink at Iran, we’d be talking about thousands of missiles and drones and the devastation it could reap would be unbelievable.

“The one thing Iran doesn’t want is its nuclear program affected which Israel could wipe off the pace of Iran, you know, overnight.

“The Iranians know that, and they’re not stupid.”

International responses

US officials confirmed that they were given notice of an “imminent” Israeli attack shortly before the early hours strike.

Blinken refused to comment on the strike today but did say: “The United States has not been involved in any offensive operations.” 

The UK Prime Minister’s office said Israel has a right to self defence but added: “we have been stressing to Israelis that what matters now is de-escalation”.

Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said today that the US told G7 that it had been “informed at the last minute” of Israel’s plans.

Analysts have described the Isfahan attack – five days after Iran’s flop drone and missile blitz was blocked by Israel’s Iron Dome defences and war jets – as “an extremely dangerous moment.”

World leaders have been warning for days of rising tensions amid fears that an all-out war could break out in the region.

The Sun previously laid out a terrifying war simulation that explains how a war between Iran and Israel would unfold, and quickly go nuclear.