Hezbollah poised to strike Israel independent of Iran, sources say

By Alex Marquardt and Katie Bo Lillis, CNN

(CNN) — Hezbollah looks increasingly like it may strike Israel independent of whatever Iran may intend to do, two sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN.

The Lebanon-based militant group is moving faster than Iran in its planning and is looking to strike Israel in the coming days, one of the sources said. Iran, meanwhile, appears to still be working out how it plans to respond, multiple officials have told CNN. One US military official told CNN that Iran had made some, but not all, of the preparations that the US would expect to see in advance of a major attack on Israel.

But given Lebanon’s proximity to Israel as its direct neighbor to the north, Hezbollah could act with little to no notice, the second source familiar with the intelligence said — which is not true of Iran.

It is not clear how or if Iran and Hezbollah, the nation’s most powerful proxy, are coordinating on a possible attack right now, the person added, and there is a sense among some officials that the two may not be entirely aligned on how to move forward.

Looming attacks would come in response to Israel last week killing the top military commander for Hezbollah, Fu’ad Shukr, in Lebanon. The next day, Israel is widely believed to have assassinated Hamas’ political leader in Tehran. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in that incident.

In the days since, countries around the world are closely watching the region. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation convened an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday at the level of foreign ministers to address ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The meeting, held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, resulted in a draft final communiqué “condemning Israel’s actions” and reaffirming solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

A significant highlight of the communiqué was the condemnation of the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader and former Palestinian Prime Minister, in Tehran. The OIC held Israel responsible for this act, calling it a “heinous crime and a violation of international law and the UN Charter.” The organization warned that such actions by Israel “undermine” regional security and stability.

This week, President Joe Biden and his top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have held a flurry of calls with counterparts across the Middle East. They have each had numerous exchanges with the leaders and foreign ministers of Jordan, Qatar and Egypt with a message of de-escalation.

CNN’s Nic Robertson, Eyad Kourdi, and AnneClaire Stapleton contributed to this report.

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