US sees missile strike on Israel by Iran, proxies as imminent

Iran has vowed retaliation for a suspected Israeli air strike on its consulate in Syria last week

Israel threatens to strike Iran directly if Iran launches attack, as Biden promises ‘ironclad’ support

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A funeral procession for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria last week. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:31am, 11 Apr 2024Updated: 11:42am, 11 Apr 2024

The United States and its allies believe major missile or drone strikes by Iran or its proxies against military and government targets in Israel are imminent, in what would mark a significant widening of the six-month-old conflict, according to people familiar with the intelligence.

The potential assault, possibly using high-precision missiles, may happen in the coming days, the people said, requesting anonymity to discuss confidential matters.

It is seen as more a matter of when, not if, one of the people said, based on assessments from US and Israeli intelligence.

An Iranian news agency briefly stoked tensions on Wednesday when it published an Arabic report on social media platform X saying all airspace over Tehran had been closed for military drills. The agency then removed the report and denied it had issued such news.

The aftermath of an attack on Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus last week. Photo: Reuters

Iran has threatened to hit Israel in retaliation for an attack on a diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital of Damascus last week that killed senior Iranian military officials. Israel has not explicitly acknowledged it was behind that attack, though it has traditionally followed a policy of ambiguity on operations in Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere.