“We expect some difficult days,” one US official said.
The Biden administration is convinced that Iran intends to attack Israel in response to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, and is preparing to confront this.
Axios reported this, citing three US officials.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian political and military officials said Tehran was planning to avenge Haniyeh's killing.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah also vowed to respond to the Israeli airstrike on Beirut that killed his top military adviser.
“The Biden administration is concerned that it may be harder to mobilize the same international and regional coalition of countries that defended Israel from a previous Iranian attack, as Haniyeh's assassination comes in the context of the Israel-Hamas war, which has sparked intense anti-Israel sentiment across the region,” the publication says.
The U.S. intelligence community began receiving clear indications on July 31 that Iran was planning to retaliate, a U.S. official said.
Two U.S. officials said it could take days for the Iranians and their proxies to coordinate and prepare an attack on Israel.
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Another U.S. official said the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command were making similar preparations to those they made before Iran's attack in April.
One of the officials said The preparations involve U.S. military assets in the Persian Gulf, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
“We expect some tough days,” the U.S. official said.
An Israeli intelligence official said the country's intelligence service expects Iran to launch a large-scale missile attack on Israel.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on the eve that the country's international partners had reinforced their forces in the region to help counter a possible attack.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned of the risk of a wider war in the Middle East. He said the U.S. administration was making intensive efforts to contain a wider war and de-escalate the situation through diplomacy.
At the same time, the Pentagon has refused to comments.
The publication noted that several American and international airlines, including United, Delta, Lufthansa and Swiss, announced the suspension of flights to and from Israel.
The Israeli military is on high alert for possible retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting on August 1 to assess the readiness of the Israel Defense Forces' General Front Command.
“We are prepared for whatever may happen. Israel is in a state of very high readiness for any scenario – both defensive and offensive. We will exact a very high price for any act of aggression against us from any side,” Netanyahu said.
Recall that earlier it became known that Biden held talks with Netanyahu and confirmed that the United States will defend Israel from attacks by Iran and its terrorist proxy groups Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
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