“We are devoted to the defence of Israel. We will support Israel,” Mr Biden said. “We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed.”
CBS is reporting that “Two U.S. officials told CBS News that a major Iranian attack against Israel was expected as soon as Friday, possibly to include more than 100 drones and dozens of missiles aimed at military targets inside the country. Sources have told CBS News the retaliation could include attacks carried out both by Iranian forces, and proxy groups around the region that it has been funneling additional arms to for weeks.
Asked Friday how imminent he believes an attack is, President Biden responded, “I don’t want to get into secure information, but my expectation is sooner than later.” The president urged Iran not to move forward, saying his message to Tehran was: “Don’t.”
US President Joe Biden says he expects Iran to attack Israel “sooner than later”, as fears grow of Iranian retaliation over an air strike that killed top commanders early this month. Israel has not admitted attacking an Iranian consulate in Syria but is widely believed to have been behind it.
According to MSNBC, military officials are reporting that Iran is Air Force planes into readiness formation; all foreign embassies have been placed on high alert, civilians in Israel are also on alert. No intelligence information is available yet as to when the attacks may be, though early tomorrow morning has been mentioned………
- The Iranian supreme leader has threatened “punishment” for Israel but through private channels Iran has signaled it would be limited.
- Israel and the U.S. think an Iranian attack would include the launch of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and attack drones from Iran to Israeli territory.
- U.S. officials say the Biden administration asked Israel to notify the U.S. and for the U.S. to have a say before decisions are made about any retaliation by Israel.
The latest: A U.S. defense official told Axios the U.S. is moving additional assets to the region to bolster regional deterrence efforts and increase force protection for U.S. forces.
Behind the scenes: Three U.S. officials said that in recent days the Iranians told several Arab governments they see the U.S. as responsible for the Israeli attack that killed the Iranian general in Damascus, regardless of U.S. efforts to distance itself from the strike.
- The U.S. maintains it had no involvement in the strike, a senior U.S. officialsaid.