The United States of America (USA) claims that Iran is preparing to attack Israel with ballistic missiles and warns Tehran of “severe consequences”.
An unnamed high-ranking White House official told Anadolu Agency that the US “actively supports defense preparations” against an Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel.
He added that Iran would suffer “severe consequences” if it attacked.
“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel soon,” the same official told Anatolia.
He pointed out that the US would support Israel in the event of an attack.
“We are actively supporting defense preparations to defend Israel against this potential attack. A direct military attack by Iran on Israel will have severe consequences for Iran,” he said.
On the other hand, according to Israeli media, the Israeli ground operation in southern Lebanon is likely to last several weeks.
The Israeli military said early Tuesday that it had launched “limited and targeted” ground operations in southern Lebanon. Despite the announcement by the Israeli army, there were no signs of an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah also denied Israeli claims that Tel Aviv had sent its ground forces into Lebanese territory.
Since September 23, Israel has launched massive airstrikes against “Hezbollah targets across Lebanon,” killing more than 1,057 and wounding more than 2,950 others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
The cross-border war between the Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israel began after the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, in which more than 41,600 people, mostly women and children, have been killed since October last year.
The international community has warned that Israeli attacks on Lebanon could escalate into a wider regional war.
