FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not pictured) at the Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, January 2, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to cut short his trip to Greece following the assassination of Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s Quds Force, said an official in Netanyahu’s office.

Israel Army Radio reported that the country’s military had gone on heightened alert, fearing retaliation by Iran or its proxies after the killing of Soleimani by a U.S. air strike in Baghdad.

Netanyahu was in Athens following the deal signed by Greece, Cyprus and Israel on Thursday to build a 1,900 km (1,180 mile) subsea pipeline to carry natural gas from the eastern Mediterranean’s rapidly developing gas fields to Europe.