US expects Iran to carry out direct attack on Israel

The US expects that Iran will carry out strikes against multiple targets inside Israel in the coming days and is prepared to help intercept any weapons launched at its ally, sources tell CNN, as the Biden administration is on high alert for what could be the eruption of a significantly volatile and unpredictable period in the Middle East.

President Joe Biden on Friday predicted that Iran’s attacks were coming “sooner than later” and sought to once again issue a stern public warning, saying that his message to Tehran was simply: “Don’t.”

The beginning of a state-on-state conflict between Iran and Israel would mark a serious escalation in the region – a scenario that the US has hoped to avoid since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.

As of late Friday, the US believed that Iranian proxies could also be involved in the forthcoming attacks, according to a senior administration official and a source familiar with the intelligence, and that targets would likely be both inside Israel and around the region. The US’ readiness to intercept weapons launched at Israel marked a clear indication of the level of ongoing cooperation between the two militaries.

The US had observed Iran moving military assets around internally, including drones and cruise missiles, signaling that it was preparing to attack Israeli targets from inside its own territory, according to two people familiar with US intelligence. One of the people said that the US had observed Iran readying as many as 100 cruise missiles.

It was not clear whether Iran was preparing to strike from its soil as part of an initial attack, or if it was posturing to try to deter Israel or the US from conducting a possible counter strike on its territory.

At the White House Friday, Biden — responding to shouted questions from reporters including whether US troops were at risk — emphasized his administration’s commitment to Israel’s security.

“We are devoted to the defense of Israel,” he said. “We will support Israel we will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed.”

There remains a “real,” “credible” and “viable” threat of Iran launching strikes, the White House said Friday, following Israel’s attack on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria last week that killed three Iranian generals.