JERUSALEM, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Israel is on heightened alert and assessing that a confrontation with Iran could begin "soon," state broadcaster Kan reported Wednesday, citing senior Israeli officials.
The report said Israel is maintaining a high level of readiness amid the possibility of a near-term U.S. strike on Iran, estimating that if launched, such an operation could develop into a weeks-long campaign.
Officials said U.S. President Donald Trump appears closer to launching a large-scale confrontation in the Middle East, and that Israel is preparing for a scenario in which fighting could break out "possibly within days."
"We are facing challenging days in relation to Iran," Boaz Bismuth, chairman of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said in the Knesset, adding, "The public is preparing, the authorities are preparing."
Additionally, a pre-scheduled meeting of Israel's security cabinet was postponed from Thursday to Sunday, a government official said, amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States and a U.S. military buildup in the region.
U.S. online outlet Axios reported, citing open-source flight radar data and a U.S. official, that last week Trump sent a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East. More than 50 F-35, F-22, and F-16 fighter jets have moved to the region over the past 24 hours.
Iran and the United States concluded the second round of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva on Tuesday. The negotiations, held at Oman's embassy in the Swiss city, were mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi. The first round of the indirect talks took place in the Omani capital Muscat on Feb. 6. ■
