On Tuesday, a “senior White House official” claimed that the United States government believes Iran is planning an “imminent” missile attack on 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.
Depending on the attack, this could represent a serious escalation in what is now a proxy war between Israel and Iranian-supported Islamic terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Israel is, so far, entertaining no similar notions of an imminent attack.
“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.”
It’s tempting to take Israel’s assessment as more accurate than that of the U.S. since they are on the ground in-theater, as it were, and their intelligence apparatus has recently shown, shall we say, some remarkable capabilities.
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One report claims that U.S. government personnel in the region have been ordered to shelter in place.
April’s attack by Iran was distinctly underwhelming. Israel and the United States claim that the vast majority of Iranian missiles and drones were intercepted; official accounts state that two Israeli air bases, Ramon Air Base and Nevatim Air Base, suffered minor damage, and one Israeli citizen – ironically an Arab Bedouin – was critically injured, with 31 others receiving minor injuries.
The unnamed “senior White House official” did not speculate about what form this possible Iranian attack may take. Smart money says that an attack by Iran would be another largely symbolic missile/drone attack that would, again, be mostly intercepted.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated Tuesday that the United States remains committed to Israel’s defense. Given this administration’s track record, Israel would be well advised to be prepared to go it alone against Iran should any new attack develop.
Finally, in Russia, Tsar Vladimir Putin the First demanded that Israel withdraw all forces from Lebanon.
The irony of that, with Russian forces still in Ukraine, is palpable.
This is a developing situation. We will continue to monitor and bring you updates as events warrant.
