Fears of wider conflict have increased as Israel plans its response to the Oct. 1 missile attack carried out by Iran after Israeli airstrikes on Iranian-allied militants.

The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy, said that Israel had agreed to focus its next attack on military targets in Iran, instead of those related to Iran’s oil industry or its uranium enrichment efforts. The pledge was first reported by the Washington Post.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have assured the United States that a counterstrike on Iran will be limited to military targets rather than oil or nuclear facilities, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

The Biden administration reportedly believes it has received assurances from Israel that it will not hit Iranian nuclear or oil sites, according to a report by The Associated Press (AP).

About 100 U.S. troops are expected to deploy to Israel, drawing the U.S. more deeply into the complex war playing out in the Middle East.

Last year it was given full membership of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, a Eurasian security and economic club dominated by China and Russia. In January Iran was admitted to BRICS, another group that China and Russia are trying to nurture as a bastion of West-sceptics.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami warned Thursday of further retaliation against Israel if it attacks Iranian targets, which Israel has vowed to do after Iran's missile attack on Octobe

By bne Tehran bureau Behrouz Kamalvandi, Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI) spokesman, said on October 16 that an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites is improbable and unlikely to cause serious damage,