It is considered unlikely an Israeli strike on Iran before the end of Easter, a US official told ABC news, although the timing of the attack could change.

The Jewish holiday begins on Monday evening and lasts until April 30.

The network also cited Israeli sources as saying that Israel twice prepared and then withdrew plans to strike Iran last week in response to the Islamic Republic’s missile and drone attack last weekend.

“Israel will make its own decisions and do what is necessary to protect itself, even if this is against the advice of its allies,” the prime minister of Israel clarified, however, Benjamin Netanyahu, rejecting the exhortations of the British Foreign Minister, David Cameron and also of his German counterpart, Analena Burbock, who met with him yesterday, Wednesday.

Israel’s allies are calling on the country’s political leadership to show restraint, sounding the alarm that a direct conflict with Iran could lead the Middle East to an all-out war.

The diplomatic pressure from the allies coincides with warnings from Iran’s president that even the “smallest action” against Iranian soil will bring a “massive and harsh response”.