Israel's security cabinet orders stepped-up preparations for a possible attack on Iran, Tehran warns of expanded retaliation

Israel's security cabinet has ordered the country's military to step up preparations for a possible attack on Iran, Israeli media have reported. Tehran, meanwhile, has warned that if attacked it will expand the scope of its retaliation beyond the region.

Israel's security cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, gave the military the order on Wednesday evening to increase preparations for an attack on Iran, according to Israeli media reports.

Israel's public broadcaster KAN reported: 'The directives issued by the security cabinet to the Israeli military could lead it to carry out activities that could trigger a war.'

KAN said the directives became public after a statement by Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot. Eisenkot told Netanyahu, who is serving as prime minister in a caretaker capacity, not to deploy the military 'without a direct and immediate threat' until the next government is formed.

After Netanyahu's ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority in the October elections, Israeli President Isaac Herzog over the weekend offered Eisenkot the chance to form a new government.

Netanyahu, who is on the cusp of losing power if the opposition succeeds in forming a government, has been adamant that the war on Iran will continue until the collapse of the government in Tehran.

Reports of Israeli preparations come at a time of intense diplomatic efforts to avert further conflict and reach a diplomatic solution. US President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to return to waging war if a diplomatic track offered by Qatar fails to facilitate a deal between Washington and Tehran.

Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei said in a social media post: 'If the US launches another war against Iran, every military base involved in the aggression, from West Asia to Europe, will be a legitimate target for Iran's lethal strikes.' He added: 'No safe distance. No safe haven. No immunity.'

Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar Atas, reporting from Tehran, said the Iranian leadership has been discussing whether to appoint the hawkish Rezaei as Iran's new chief negotiator. He said voices in Tehran have said that if this status quo goes on for a long period, Iran will not wait and might take pre-emptive action. The current lead negotiator, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has commented on Iran's determination to move beyond this state of 'no war, no peace'.

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera published on Wednesday, Ghalibaf said the Strait of Hormuz will 'never return' to its status prior to the US-Israel war on Iran and that 'the ball is now in the American court'. He said: 'What stands in the way of an agreement is our lack of trust in the United States.'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, has said the Trump administration's economic pressure campaign against Iran is proving so effective that resuming large-scale military operations is unnecessary. US Central Command said US forces 'continue to work around the clock' keeping the Strait of Hormuz open for commercial shipping and strictly enforcing the naval blockade against Iran.

Meanwhile, oil prices rose about 1 percent on Wednesday after Tehran rejected a US proposal to transfer its stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium to a third country. Brent futures settled $1.27, or 1.39 percent, higher at $92.76, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 49 cents, or 0.57 percent, to $86.53.