Israel is "prepared to do devastating damage to Iran" if the Iranians continue to escalate hostilities toward it, National Security Council Chief of Staff Fred Fleitz said on Newsmax Saturday.
"I think the Israelis will try to calibrate this attack so this conflict, these exchanges of attacks between Israel and Iran will end and Iran won't escalate," Fleitz told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend."
States in the region don't want to see the conflict escalating, but they were privately upset when Iran launched its attack on Israel earlier this month, Fleitz added.
"They'd like to see it end," he said. "I think Israel delivered two important messages. It will not tolerate attacks on its territory from Iran, and that nothing in Iran is safe from Israeli retaliation."
Israel said it hit several Iranian military sites early Saturday, with the Iranian media reporting multiple explosions over several hours in Tehran and nearby military bases. There were no immediate damage or casualty reports.
"I think the most important thing we saw last night is Israel was clearing the way for a much larger attack by destroying air defenses and air defense radars so if it attacks again, it may have air superiority and an air corridor to do massive damage against Iran," said Fleitz. "I think the Iranians know that."
Israel, he added, is "trying to deliver a message to Iran" that it did limited damages with its strikes, but also that the damages set them up to do "enormous damages" to Iran.
"Will Iran heed that message?" said Fleitz. I don't know, but I think this was a calibrated attack because Israel would like to find a way to de-escalate."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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