The U.S. on Monday said Iran and its proxies might attack Israel this week as fears grow that a large assault is imminent.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the attack “could be this week,” agreeing with reports that Israel expects an attack within days.
But Kirby said it’s unclear when exactly the attack might come.
“We’re continuing to watch it very, very closely,” he told reporters. “We do share the assessment made by our Israeli counterpart that something could happen as soon as this week by Iran and its proxies.”
There’s speculation that Iran could launch a major attack on Israel with rockets, drones or other weapons, but it could also be constrained amid cease-fire and hostage release talks between the Iranian-backed Hamas militant group in Gaza and Israel.
Kirby added it was “difficult to ascertain” what the Iranian attack would look like.
“But we have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks,” he said.
The U.S. has pledged to defend Israel, moving more military assets to the region as it prepares for the assault.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is set to replace another strike group, and the Pentagon has also sent a guided missile submarine and F-22 fighter jets.
Washington helped defend Israel in an April Iranian attack that saw hundreds of drones and rockets fired from Iran. The missiles and drones were largely shot out of the sky by U.S., Israeli and allied Arab nations in the region.
Iran is vowing revenge following what it said was an Israeli killing of a top Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, about two weeks ago in Tehran. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied the attack.
Israeli forces also killed the top military commander of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon around the same time as Haniyeh’s death.
Hezbollah is also promising to respond, raising fears that the militant group could attack at the same time as Iran, which could pose a far greater threat than the April Iranian assault.
The fears also come as the U.S. is pushing Hamas and Israel to sit down Thursday and negotiate a cease-fire and hostage release deal, which is in its final stages.
The deal is expected to bring home the 115 hostages in Gaza and create a pathway for a temporary cease-fire in Gaza, where more than 39,000 have died in 10 months of war.
Kirby told reporters that the Iran attack may complicate those talks.
“If something does happen in this week, the timing of it can certainly well have an impact on these talks,” he said.