Zero Hour for the American Attack on Iran.. What Did Israel Reveal?

Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir predicted that the United States would launch a military attack on Iran within two weeks to two months, according to what was reported by Israeli Army Radio.

 In turn, Israeli Channel 13 reported that Zamir made a secret visit to the United States over the weekend, where he held "intensive discussions" with American officials, against the backdrop of American assessments regarding a possible attack on Iran.

 Haaretz newspaper stated that the visit aims to "coordinate positions for defensive reasons."

 Netanyahu's visit to Washington

 In this context, Al-Araby TV correspondent in Jerusalem, Ahmed Darawsheh, indicated that Zamir revealed that the American attack on Iran would not occur within days, but within two weeks to two months; that is, between mid-February and early April, according to Israeli Army Radio.

 Our correspondent explained that the first deadline (mid-February) begins concurrently with the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States and his meeting with US President Donald Trump.

   Trump had spoken yesterday about giving Iran a deadline to reach an agreement, and it seems that the date mentioned by the Chief of Staff coincides with this deadline, although Trump stated that only Iran knows when it ends.

 American-Israeli contacts

 Intensive American-Israeli contacts continue at the military level; this was reflected in the visit of the head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate "Aman" to the United States, where he met with American officials, following another meeting he held last week with the commander of the US Central Command.

 The head of the Intelligence Directorate and its units, including Unit 8200, are the primary officials responsible for monitoring Iranian military capabilities, including missile capabilities, command and control systems, and the capabilities of the army and Revolutionary Guard to launch missiles towards American countries and bases in the region.

   According to Israeli media, the Israeli intelligence's briefing of sensitive information to the American administration makes Israel a partner in planning any potential attack; Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper described the head of the Intelligence Directorate as the most important person in the framework of planning for the next war.

 Absence of the element of surprise

 However, Israel acknowledges that there are challenges facing the region if Washington decides to launch the attack, most notably the decline of the "element of surprise."

 While Israel previously relied on field surprises to destroy air defenses or carry out assassinations of nuclear scientists and Revolutionary Guard commanders, Yedioth Ahronoth, citing sources, indicates that the element of surprise that characterized the first minutes of the previous aggression has significantly declined this time.

 Israeli estimates also indicate that Iran has learned lessons from previous confrontations regarding missile attacks, while the most prominent American challenge remains imposing complete control over Iranian airspace.

 Cost of a potential war with Iran

 In addition, the Israeli economic website "Calcalist" said on Sunday that the cost of a potential war against Iran would reach about 10 billion dollars, explaining that the cost of the last war against Iran amounted to about 20 billion shekels (6.37 billion dollars).

 The website confirmed that "senior officials in the Israeli security establishment warn that another round could reach tens of billions, depending on the length and nature of the battle."

   The website quoted Ram Aminach, the former economic advisor to the Israeli Chief of Staff, as saying: "The relatively least expensive scenario is for Israel not to launch any attack at all." Aminach added: "Even if Israel does not launch an attack, this does not mean there are no costs, as air defense costs billions of shekels, and in such a scenario, the military cost alone could reach between 7 and 10 billion shekels (2.23 to 3.18 billion dollars).

   But in the event of a war like the one that took place last June, Shachon Haddad, the former advisor to the Israeli Chief of Staff, says that estimates will range between 15 and 25 billion shekels (4.78 and 8 billion dollars), according to the same source.

 Calcalist pointed out that "the cost could reach 30 billion shekels (about 9.8 billion dollars), and these are only military costs, without civilian ones."