US sees missile strike on Israel by Iran, proxies as imminent

The U.S. and its allies believe major missile or drone strikes by Iran or its proxies against military and government targets in Israel are imminent, according to people familiar with the intelligence.

The potential assault, possibly using high-precision missiles, may happen in the coming days, the people said, requesting anonymity to discuss confidential matters. It is seen as more a matter of when, not if, one of the people said, based on assessments from U.S. and Israeli intelligence.

Iran has threatened to hit Israel in retaliation for an attack on a diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital of Damascus last week that killed senior Iranian military officials.

Iran has long vowed to destroy Israel.

Israel’s Western allies have been told Israeli government and military facilities may be targeted but civilian facilities are not expected to be, they said. U.S. officials are helping Israel on planning and sharing intelligence assessments, the people said.

Israel has told allies it is waiting for this attack to take place before launching another ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah in Gaza, though it’s not clear how soon that operation may begin.

U.S. and Western intelligence indicates an attack from Iran and its proxies may not necessarily come from Israel’s north, where Tehran’s ally Hezbollah in Lebanon is located, the people said.

Israeli officials are in agreement with the allied view. They’ve also publicly threatened Iran that if it hits Israeli soil, Israel will hit Iranian soil.

Foreign diplomatic missions already are preparing for the potential strikes, making contingency plans for evacuation amid requests from Israeli authorities about emergency supplies like generators and satellite phones, one of the people said, noting that they were not aware of any Western missions planning immediate evacuation.

While the U.S. has pushed Israel for a cease-fire in Gaza, the Biden administration has also signaled it’s prepared to back the country in the event of an attack by Iran or its proxies.

“We also want to address the Iranian threat to launch a significant — they’re threatening to launch a significant attack in Israel,” President Joe Biden said Wednesday. “As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is iron clad. Let me say it again, iron clad — all we can to protect Israel’s security.”