Iran is preparing an imminent ballistic missile attack on Israel, the United States said on Tuesday, warning that such an attack would have “serious” consequences for Tehran.
The warning came as Israel said it had launched a ground offensive in Lebanon to attack the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah, whose leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike last week.
“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel soon,” a senior White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“We actively support defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack.”
The United States and other Western allies intervened to help defend Israel against a combined Iranian missile and drone attack in April, which Tehran launched in retaliation for an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
The US official added: “A direct military attack by Iran on Israel will have serious consequences for Iran.”
Iran has said the assassination of Nasrallah would bring about the “destruction” of Israel, although the State Department said on Monday that Tehran would not deploy soldiers to confront Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, issued a stark warning to Iran on Monday, saying there is “nowhere in the Middle East that Israel cannot reach.”
Netanyahu also said that a future “where Iran is finally free” would “come much sooner than people think.”
An attack on Israel by Iran would seriously increase fears of a broader regional conflict that the United States and other world powers in the Middle East want to avoid.
The United States has cautiously backed Israel's initiative to dismantle Hezbollah's ability to attack northern Israel, even as President Joe Biden has called for a ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was “following events in the Middle East very closely.”
“The United States is committed to the defense of Israel,” Blinken said Tuesday morning during a meeting with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita at the State Department.
Washington said Monday it is strengthening its forces in the Middle East by a “few thousand” troops, bringing in new units and expanding others already there.
The Pentagon also deployed more fighter jets.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin late Monday offered support to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant for “dismantling Hezbollah's attack infrastructure” along the border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah began low-intensity attacks on Israeli forces a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas, which is also backed by Iran, carried out its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, prompting Israel's devastating assault on the Gaza Strip.
Cross-border fire from Israel and Hezbollah continued during the Israeli war in Gaza.
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