Iran is preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel, according to a senior US administration official, who warned Tuesday of “severe consequences” should it take place.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence, said the US is actively supporting Israeli defensive preparations. This comes after the Israeli military on Tuesday warned people to evacuate nearly two dozen Lebanese border communities hours after announcing what it said were limited ground operations against Hezbollah.
White House officials did not immediately offer any evidence backing its intelligence finding, but one official added that the administration was confident in the determination.
Iran’s state media has not suggested an imminent attack, and Iranian officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Iran already launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel in April, but few of the Iranian projectiles reached their targets. A US-led coalition shot down many, while others failed at launch or crashed while in flight.
Even those that reached Israel appeared to miss their marks, experts and an AP analysis in September showed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Tuesday statement that Israel is facing “large challenges” as it fights an Iranian axis. In the videotaped statement, he urges the public to listen to public safety guidelines from the army’s Home Front Command. He made no direct mention of a missile threat.
Hezbollah denied Israeli troops had entered Lebanon, but hours later, the Israeli army announced it had also carried out dozens of ground invasions into southern Lebanon going back nearly a year. Israel released video footage purporting to show its soldiers operating in homes and tunnels where Hezbollah kept weapons.
US ships and aircraft are already positioned in the region to assist Israel in the event of an attack from Iran. There are three US Navy destroyers in the Mediterranean Sea, an aircraft carrier in the Gulf of Oman and fighter jets arrayed throughout the region. All can shoot down incoming missiles.
Israel advised people to evacuate to the north of the Awali River, some 60 kilometres (36 miles) from the border and much farther than the Litani River, which marks the northern edge of an UN-declared zone that was intended to serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah after their 2006 war.
“You must immediately head north of the Awali River to save yourselves and leave your houses immediately,” said the statement posted by the Israeli military on platform X. The warning applied to communities south of the Litani.
The border region has largely emptied out over the past year as the two sides have traded fire. But the scope of the evacuation warning raised questions as to how deep Israel plans to send its forces into Lebanon as it presses ahead with a rapidly escalating campaign against Hezbollah.