Israel vows 'appropriate response' if Iran attacks its territory

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday vowed an "appropriate response" if Iran attacks his country's territory.

"A direct Iranian attack on Israeli territory will require an appropriate Israeli response against Iran," Gallant told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a phone conversation on preparations for a possible Iranian retaliatory attack.

During the conversation, Gallant detailed the Israeli preparations and emphasized that Israel "will not tolerate an Iranian attack on its territory."

It was the second time the two officials had talked over the past week. US intelligence officials have assessed that Iran could launch a counter-attack soon in response to the killing of seven Iranians in an Israeli airstrike on Iran's consulate in Syria on April 1.

Earlier on Thursday, Commander of the United States Central Command Michael Kurilla arrived in Israel for talks with Gallant and Herzi Halevi, the chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, to coordinate responses to a potential Iranian attack.