Iran is preparing to unleash a salvo of ballistic missiles against Israel, a senior official from the White House said on Tuesday.
The US – which is an ally of Israel and has committed to a $8.7 billion military aid package – is actively supporting plans to defend it against threats from Iran.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, warned the Islamic Republic of ‘severe consequences’ if an attack takes place in the coming hours.
Another official cited by Reuters said the assault could be ‘at least as big’ as the drone strike in April after Iran retaliated for Israel’s massacre on its embassy in Damascus.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israeli military spokesperson, told a televised briefing that air defence systems are fully prepared for any strike from Iran – but no threat has been identified at present.
In the last hour, the US Embassy in Jerusalem has moved all US government staff and their family members ‘to shelter in place until further notice’ because of ‘the current security situation’.
The US warning comes as Israel is understood to have launched a ground invasion into south Lebanon after weeks of bombardments across the country, including in Beirut.
The Israeli military described it as ‘limited, localised and targeted’ but Hezbollah denies that Israeli forces have crossed into theterritory.
The US military on Sunday warned Iran against expanding the conflict and said it was increasing air support capabilities in the region and putting soldiers on standby.
Any attack would significantly raise the risk of an all-out war between Israel and Iran, including its proxies across the Middle East.
As the two nations have been moving closer to a direct confrontation for almost a year.
Iran has been put on the hot seat to respond to Israel’s bloodshed in Lebanon, in which more than 1,000 Lebanese have been killed and 6,000 wounded in the last two weeks.
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