White House: Iran preparing to launch ballistic missile attack against Israel

The White House says Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel.

“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack,” a senior White House official said in a statement. “A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran.”

The warning comes amid Israeli forces’ ground incursion into Lebanon where they are conducting raids against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. The raids are part of an ongoing campaign by Israel to degrade Hezbollah’s positions in Lebanon.

A spokesperson for Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Over the past several weeks, Israel has targeted senior Hezbollah commanders by detonating explosives inside pagers and walkie-talkies and by launching airstrikes on the group’s command centers in Beirut — one of which killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Soon after the U.S. announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the people of Israel in a video statement.

“Citizens of Israel, we are in the midst of a campaign against Iran's axis of evil,” Netanyahu said. “Together we will fight and together we will win,” he added.

Asked for comment on the U.S. announcement about impending strikes, a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Washington directed POLITICO to Netanyahu’s address.

The U.S. has been anticipating a significant retaliation from Iran following Israel’s push against the group.

While this would not be the first time Iran has launched ballistic missiles at Israel in recent months, the attack would likely significantly escalate fighting between the two sides, potentially sparking a regional war — a situation the Biden administration has tried to avoid.

Over the weekend, the U.S. stepped up its military presence in the Middle East to deter further violence and safeguard American interests. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying destroyers to remain in the region, while also increasing air-support capabilities. The Pentagon placed more troops on standby and the USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group remind close by in the eastern Mediterranean.

The U.S. has multiple missile defense ships in the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea that can track and shoot down ballistic missiles, and is in the process of doubling the number of fighter planes in the region.

Both American ships and aircraft were used in the April 14 interception of Iranian missiles, including ballistic missiles, and drones launched against Israel. That attack by Tehran was in retaliation for Israel targeting an Iranian diplomatic post in Beirut in which one of Hamas’ senior leaders was killed.

A Pentagon spokesperson pointed to Austin’s weekend call with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant. A readout of the call said Austin told Gallant that the U.S. “is well postured to defend U.S. personnel, partners and allies in the face of threats from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist organizations,” and the two discussed “serious consequences” for Iran if it directly attacked Israel.

In recent days, top U.S. officials in the White House have worked to try and contain Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon, worried its forces would move too far into the country and that the fighting would escalate on the ground — that the targeted raids would develop into a prolonged, direct confrontation with Hezbollah.

A U.S. official said the administration was prepared for Israel to move forward with a more sweeping ground invasion of Lebanon over the weekend, but that the White House convinced Netanyahu to scale back the planned operation.

Still, it's unclear the extent to which the Biden team’s current warnings are changing Israel’s tactical movements.

The administration is broadly supportive of Israel’s goal of weakening Hezbollah in Lebanon, but it is concerned that its operations in the country will go too far in antagonizing Iran. They’re worried it will drag U.S. troops into yet another Middle East conflict, another U.S. official said. U.S. officials are also still pushing the diplomatic angle, hoping the violence will simmer in the coming weeks, allowing the administration to re-up its call for a 21-day cease-fire that it announced last week.