Israel says it is preparing for Iran to retaliate as tensions rise

Iran insisted on its right to an "appropriate and deterrent response" against Israel yesterday as the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, told his US counterpart that Tehran was making preparations for a large-scale attack.

- Peter Beaumont

The US also announced yesterday that it had ordered the deployment of the USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine, to the Middle East, amid mounting concern over the determination by Iran and its proxies to retaliate for Israel's assassination of Hamas's political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran.

With fears that an attack may be imminent, the Israel air force commander, Maj Gen Tomer Bar, issued an order forbidding career officers from travelling abroad for holidays, a day after it was reported that soldiers travelling in Georgia and Azerbaijan had been told to return to Israel immediately.

Earlier, the leaders of France, Germany and Britain called on Tehran to refrain from any retaliatory attacks that would escalate regional tensions after the killing of Haniyeh, and of a Hezbollah leader in Beirut last month.

A joint statement endorsed calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, the return of scores of hostages held by Hamas and the "unfettered" delivery of humanitarian aid.