The Israeli army is preparing to carry out "massive and unprecedented" strikes against Iran-backed resistance movements in the region should they support the Islamic Republic in any war against Israel, Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported on 20 February.

Citing Israeli military sources, the Saudi-owned paper said Israel was preparing for possible strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Ansarallah in Yemen, and resistance factions in Iraq.

Israel is currently pressuring US President Donald Trump to initiate a new war against Iran. In January, Trump ordered an "armada" of US naval forces to West Asia in preparation for a possible attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday his military is making its own preparations for possible missile strikes on Iran, alongside any US action.

"We are prepared for any scenario," he said, adding that if Iran attacks Israel, "they will experience a response they cannot even imagine."

A military source said Ansarallah poses a "direct threat not just to Israel, but to the whole world," accusing the Yemeni movement of impeding international trade in the Red Sea.

The Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) targeted Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea starting in 2023 in response to Israel's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

Ansarallah also fired ballistic missiles and drones toward targets in Israel, largely shutting the Eilat port.

The source said Ansarallah, which governs most of the populated areas of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, is producing weapons and possesses advanced technology. He compared them to a "dangerous ticking time bomb that must be swiftly neutralized."

According to Israeli media, Tel Aviv has delivered very clear warnings to the Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah, that if it chooses to intervene in a war between Iran and Israel, the blow will be "extremely painful."

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem stated on Monday that any attack on Iran would also be an attack on the movement. Speaking in a televised address to supporters, Qassem said Hezbollah and Iran were facing an "aggression that does not distinguish between us."

"A war on Iran this time will ignite the region," he warned.

"We will choose at that time how to act … but we are not neutral," he added.

Mohammed Bukhaiti of Yemen's Ansarallah stated his movement would also join a war to defend Iran.

"We are men of action, not words," he said.

In a strongly worded statement issued recently, the movement called on those willing to confront the "front of disbelief and hypocrisy" to prepare for a "comprehensive war" in support of Iran.

Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi resistance movement, warned of a "total war" if ?Iran is attacked by the US and Israel.

The movement's chief, Abu Hussein al?Hamidawi, issued a statement late on Sunday, calling on fighters to be prepared for war.

He said the "forces of darkness" are gathering to subjugate and destroy Iran, describing the country as the "fortress and pride" of Muslims.

"You will taste the bitterest forms of death, and nothing will remain of you in our region," Hamidawi warned Israel.