The United States said on Tuesday that Iran is preparing an imminent ballistic missile attack against Israel, warning that any such attack would have “dire” consequences for Tehran.
The warning came as Israel said it had launched a ground offensive in Lebanon to target 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 against Israel soon,” a senior White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack.”
The United States and other Western allies stepped in in April to help defend Israel against a joint Iranian missile and drone attack that Tehran launched in retaliation for the Israeli attack on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus.
“A direct military attack by Iran against Israel would have serious consequences for Iran,” the US official said.
Iran has said Nasrallah’s killing would bring Israel’s “destruction”, although the Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Tehran would not deploy troops to counter Israel.
Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Iran on Monday, saying, “There is no place in the Middle East that Israel cannot reach.”
Netanyahu also said that the future “when Iran is finally free” will “come sooner than people think”.
An attack by Iran on Israel would seriously raise fears of broader regional conflict, which the United States and other world powers have said they want to avoid in the Middle East.
The United States has cautiously backed Israel’s move to eliminate 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 remains committed to Israel’s defense,” Blinken said during a meeting with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita at the State Department on Tuesday morning.
Washington said on Monday it was boosting its forces in the Middle East by “a few thousand” troops by bringing in new units and augmenting other units already there.
The Pentagon said it was also deploying more fighter planes.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin late Monday offered support to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant for “destroying attack infrastructure” belonging to Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah launched low-intensity attacks on Israeli troops after its Palestinian ally Hamas, which is also backed by Iran, launched its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, leading to Israel’s devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Cross-border firing by Israel and Hezbollah continued throughout Israel’s war in Gaza.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
