Robert Wilkie to Newsmax: Iran Will Pick Soft Target to Retaliate

Iranians will likely pick a soft target like an Israeli embassy or a Jewish cultural center to retaliate against Israel after the killing of the Hamas leader in Tehran, said Robert Wilkie, former undersecretary of Defense.

"Well, let's look at what [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu did. This attack was designed to instill fear, not particularly pain," Wilkie said Thursday during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show."

"And if you look at what he did in response to the missile attack, he took out the entire Russian-made air defense system around Iran's nuclear weapons facility. This deepens Iranian paranoia and fear of Netanyahu.

"What I do expect is that the Iranians will probably pick a soft target — an Israeli embassy or a Jewish cultural center. They've tried the missiles," he continued.

"I don't think they're going to unleash Hezbollah because they've already seen what the Netanyahu government is prepared to do to destroy them. I think this is quite a humiliation for the Iranians, but also says something else.

"It's shameful for the Biden administration, because you have a leader in Israel who is standing up to a terrorist regime that is working the will of the Chinese and the Russians. And they are humiliating the United States every day, because [President Joe] Biden refuses to respond, particularly to attacks against shipping in the Gulf of Aden, in the Red Sea," Wilkie said.

The region faces a risk of widened conflict between Israel, Iran, and its proxies after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran on Wednesday and the killing of Hezbollah's senior commander on Tuesday in an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

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