Iran is preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel, a senior White House official told Fox News on Tuesday morning, following weeks of Israeli strikes against Tehran’s proxies in the region.
“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel,” the official said. “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.”
Another U.S. official told Fox News that Iran could launch its attack as soon as Tuesday afternoon, saying that the U.S. has seen additional movement of missiles in Iran to prepare for the now “imminent” attack.
The official added that Iran’s attack could look like the one it launched in April against Israel, which had more than 300 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.
While the U.S. official did not know what the exact scope or size will be, the official said that Iran has been at a state of readiness to launch an attack on Israel within 12 to 24 hours since early August following the July 31st assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Iran already launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel in April, though the regime’s proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have traded attacks with Israel since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7.
On Tuesday, Israel was beginning a limited ground invasion into southern Lebanon against Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah, the most powerful armed group in the Middle East, has been reeling from weeks of targeted strikes that killed its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Nasrallah “the flag-bearer of resistance” in the region.
Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei has reportedly moved into hiding and remains at a secure location within the country. (Iranian Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images, File)
“The blood of the martyr shall not go unavenged,” Khamenei said after Nasrallah was killed late last week in Beirut, Lebanon, by an Israeli airstrike, according to Reuters.
Three U.S. Navy destroyers are positioned in the Mediterranean Sea, an aircraft carrier in the Gulf of Oman and fighter jets arrayed throughout the region to assist Israel in the event of an attack from Iran. All are capable of shooting down incoming missiles.
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Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department announced Tuesday that sanctions are being imposed on two Israelis and a “violent extremist group” in the West Bank as Iran threatens to strike the Jewish State.
Fox News’ Nicolas Rojas and Greg Norman, along with The Associated Press contributed to this report.