<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Iran said on Wednesday its military was ready to confront any attack by Israel, with the air force saying it was prepared for action.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran’s navy commander said also that it was escorting Iranian commercial vessels to the Red Sea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran carried out its first-ever direct attack on Israel last weekend in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus on April 1.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israel has said it will hit back and its war cabinet was meeting on Wednesday to discuss options.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Any attack by the Zionist regime (Israel) on our soil will be dealt with a severe response,” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Wednesday at a parade held for Army Day, state media reported.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force warned at the same event that its warplanes, including Russian-made Sukhoi-24s, were in their “best state of preparedness” to counter any Israeli attack.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We have full readiness in all fields, including our air coverage and bombers, and are prepared for any operation,” Brig. Gen. Amir Vahedi said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A direct attack on Revolutionary Guards bases or nuclear research facilities within Iran is one of the options Israel has to strike back. Targets outside of Iran are also a possibility.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Admiral Shahram Irani said the Iran Navy was escorting Iranian commercial ships to the Red Sea, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The Navy is carrying out a mission to escort Iranian commercial ships to the Red Sea and our Jamaran frigate is present in the Gulf of Aden in this view,” Irani said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tehran was ready to escort vessels of other countries, he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Red Sea has seen significant disruption to Israel-bound shipping due to attacks from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On April 13, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized the MSC Aries, a Portuguese-flagged container ship in the Strait of Hormuz which Tehran says is linked to Israel, according to Reuters reports&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/fas</div>