“We continue to view the potential threat from Iran as real, significant,” White House National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told reporters.
Kirby did not confirm media reports that US officials believed an Iranian attack was “inevitable”.
He also did not comment on whether the US would help shoot down Iranian missiles if they were fired at Israel.
“I’ll just say we’re watching very, very carefully,” Kirby said.
Washington will make sure the Israelis “have what they need and are able to protect themselves,” he added.
The U.S. will also assess the situation of its forces in the region, where it has thousands of troops, to “make sure we are adequately prepared,” a White House official said.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday again threatened Israel that it will be punished for the April 1 airstrike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, which killed seven members of the Revolutionary Guard, two of whom were generals.
The strike took place in violation of international agreements, which provide for the inviolability of diplomatic spaces, Khamenei emphasized.
“Consulates and embassies in any country are the territory of that country,” he said. “When they attacked our consulate, it means they attacked our territory.”
Iranian state media reported that Brigadier General Reza Zahedi, a high-ranking commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, was killed in strikes in Damascus.
2024-04-12 20:55:13
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