Iran is preparing 'imminent' missile attack on Israel: White House official

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WASHINGTON — Iran is preparing to launch an "imminent" ballistic missile attack on Israel, according to a senior White House official.

The Pentagon is actively supporting Israel in its preparations to defend against the attack, according to the official who was not authorized to speak publicly. A direct attack on Israel will carry "severe consequences for Iran," they said.

The imminent attack follows Israel's punishing airstrikes and covert attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli troops crossed into Lebanon for the first time since 2006. The Israeli military said it was conducting a "localized and targeted" ground operation on Hezbollah command posts and weapons storage sites.

Israel killed Hezbollah's longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Sept. 27 .

Israel has pummeled Lebanon with airstrikes in the last two weeks, killing more than 1,000 people, according to the country's health ministry. The escalation between Israel Hezbollah, the largest in nearly a year, was triggered by an Israeli operation that exploded thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies across the country.

In April, Iran launched a barrage of more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel. With U.S. and western allies, Israel shot down almost all of them.

Hezbollah has been firing missiles and rockets into Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis.

Hezbollah is financially backed by Iran and is part of its "axis of resistance," a network of groups across the region that it funds and provides with weapons, including the Houthis and Hamas.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iran is preparing 'imminent' missile attack on Israel: White House official