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Iran is on alert and will "punish" any Israeli strike against it, its armed forces chief of staff, General Hassan Firouzabadi, warned on Wednesday amid Israeli media speculation of plans for an attack.

"We consider any threat - even those with low probability and distant - as a definite threat. We are on full alert," he said, quoted by Fars news agency.

"With the right equipment, we are ready to punish them and make them regret (committing) any mistake," he said.

Media in Israel are speculating that there are plans to attack Iran's nuclear facilities but that the government was split on the issue.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking cabinet support for a military strike, Haaretz newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The report, citing a senior Israeli official, said Netanyahu was working with Defense Minister Ehud Barak to win support from members of the cabinet who oppose attacking Iranian nuclear facilities.

It came after days of renewed public discussion among Israeli commentators about the possibility that Israel would take unilateral military action against Iran.

Haaretz said that Netanyahu and Barak had already scored a significant win by convincing Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to throw his support behind a strike.

But the newspaper cited the senior Israeli official as saying there was still "a small advantage" in the cabinet for those opposed to an attack.

Among those still opposed, Haaretz said, are Interior Minister Eli Yishai of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

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Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.