US warns Iran attack on Israel could come this week

The United States on Monday warned that Iran or its proxies could launch an attack on Israel this week in retaliation for the assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

The Biden administration said it was preparing for “what could be a significant set of attacks” in its most specific public assessment of the timing of a potential assault from Tehran, echoing a similar assessment from Israeli officials.

“We share the same concerns and expectations that our Israeli counterparts have with respect to potential timing here, [It] could be this week,” said US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

He added: “It is difficult to ascertain at this particular time if there is an attack by Iran and or its proxies, what that could look like, but we have to be prepared.”

Kirby’s comments came as the chief spokesman for Israel’s military, Daniel Hagari, said Israeli forces were on “peak alert” for retaliation by Iran or its proxies, including the Lebanese militant group Hizbollah, and had increased air patrols over Lebanon to detect threats.

However, Hagari said Israel was not currently changing its guidance for civilians. He added that if this changed, advice would be updated “as early as possible.... but without giving our enemies an intelligence or operational advantage”.

The US announced on Sunday that it had sent additional military assets to the region to help defend Israel, including a guided missile submarine, on top of the additional warships and fighter aircraft it had already pledged.

Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant on Monday said he had discussed the “interoperability” of Israeli and US forces in the region with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin. A day earlier he warned that “whoever harms us in a way that has not been done in the past, is likely to be hit in a way that hasn’t been done in the past”.

Washington and its allies have made a joint diplomatic push to reduce tensions in the region, with US President Joe Biden and the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy warning of the consequences of any Iranian retaliation and urging Israel and Hamas to resume ceasefire talks to end the 10-month war in Gaza.

“We expressed our support for the defence of Israel against Iranian aggression and against attacks by Iran-backed terrorist groups,” the leaders said in a joint statement. “We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place.”

As part of the international efforts to defuse heightened tensions, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also had a rare phone call with the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. He warned of “a serious risk of miscalculation” of any attack on Israel, adding that “now was the time for calm and careful consideration”.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz and the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, also held calls with Pezeshkian.