White House believes Iran is preparing imminent ballistic missile attack against Israel
CNN
By MJ Lee, Arlette Saenz, Jennifer Hansler, Pauline Lockwood and Niamh Kennedy, CNN
(CNN) — The White House on Tuesday said the US believes Iran is preparing an imminent ballistic missile attack against Israel.
“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel. We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran,” a senior White House official said in a statement.
The US is prepared to do whatever it can to help Israel intercept anything Iran directs its way, similar to how the US offered its assistance in April, when Iran launched a wave of drones and missiles towards Israel — the vast majority of which were successfully intercepted, a US official said.
The US anticipates that the forthcoming attack from Iran against Israel could be similar in scope and scale to the one in April, a US official told CNN.
In that attack, Iran launched a wave of drones and missiles towards Israel – the vast majority were successfully intercepted.
Shortly after the US statement was released, the Israeli military said it had not yet identified an aerial threat from Iran.
“As of this moment, Israel does not perceive imminent threat from Iran,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.
During a short video message, Hagari said Israeli military planes are currently “scanning the sky” for any imminent threat from Iran.
“We are on peak alert both on the offensive and the defensive,” Hagari added, warning Iran that any attack on Israel would “have consequences.”
Tensions between Israel and Iran have ratcheted up significantly in recent weeks as Israel has stepped up its efforts against Hezbollah in Lebanon, an Iran-backed militant group. Israel on Monday launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah.
The United States is “tracking events in the Middle East very closely” and “is committed to Israel’s defense,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.
“We’re watching developments, as I said, very carefully at this moment,” Blinken said in brief remarks alongside his Moroccan counterpart. Blinken did not make any specific reference to Iran or the potential attack.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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