White House: U.S. intelligence indicates Iran could attack Israel within days
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White House spokesperson John Kirby speaks during a press briefing at the White House on Feb. 27, 2024. Photo: Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
The White House on Monday said U.S. intelligence indicates it is increasingly likely Iran will attack Israel this week, matching the latest Israeli intelligence assessment.
Why it matters: The new intelligence suggests an attack could come before the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal talks planned for Thursday, which could put the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas at risk.
The latest: Israeli and U.S. officials tell Axios Iran has taken significant preparatory steps in its missile and drone units, similar to those it had taken before the attack on Israel in April.
- They stressed, however, that Israel and the U.S. don't know the exact timing of the attack.
- "The Iranians openly signal (on the ground) their determination to carry out a significant attack in addition to their public statements that the attack will exceed the one they carried out in April. Iranian public statements do not reflect any retreat," a senior Israeli official told Axios.
- Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian political and military officials have said Iran is going to retaliate for Israel's assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month.
- Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has also vowed to respond to the Israeli airstrike in Beirut that killed his top military adviser in July.
What they're saying: "The Israelis think there is an increasing probability that Iran and its proxies will attack in the coming days. We share this concern and therefore we are coordinating with Israel and other partners in the region," White House spokesperson John Kirby said in a briefing with reporters, adding the U.S. thinks an attack could happen this week.
- Kirby said President Biden spoke on the phone on Monday with his counterparts from the UK, Germany, France and Italy to discuss the situation in the Middle East.
- He said they discussed ways to protect Israel, advance a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza and prevent an Iranian attack.
- The U.S., UK, France, Germany and Italy issued a joint statement on Monday calling on Iran "to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place."
The latest: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday he was "deeply concerned by the situation in the region" and "called on all parties to de-escalate," the prime minister's office said in a statement.
- The prime minister "called on Iran to refrain from attacking Israel" and said "there was a serious risk of miscalculation and now was the time for calm and careful consideration," according to the statement.
Zoom in: Kirby told reporters the U.S. still expects all parties to participate in the talks on Thursday but stressed an Iranian attack on Israel could undermine the ceasefire negotiations.
- "We are planning on getting together on Thursday and we expect Hamas t be there," he said.
- On Sunday, Hamas issued a statement saying it wouldn't take part in the talks and called on mediators to present a plan to implement the proposed deal Hamas agreed to on July 2.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with information from the joint statement by the U.S., UK, France, Germany and Italy and the UK Prime Minister's office statement.
