Iran preparing to launch ballistic missile attack on Israel, says US official

Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel, reported international news agencies quoting a senior White House official on Tuesday.

The official said that the United States is actively supporting preparations to defend Israel against this.

"A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran," the official said.

The development comes a day after Iran's foreign ministry said that it will not deploy forces to Lebanon or Gaza to confront Israel amid Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launching ground offensive in Lebanon to target the Iran-backed Hezbollah, whose leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli air strike last week.

After Nasrallah's killing, Iran had said that it would bring about Israel's ‘destruction’.

Earlier, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said that there is no need to send extra or volunteer forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Lebanon and fighters in the Palestinian territories “have the capability and strength to defend themselves against the aggression,” AFP quoted Kanani as saying.

"We have not received any request in this regard from any side, on the contrary, we are informed and are sure that they do not need the help of our forces," Kanani told reporters in Tehran.

Meanwhile, Israeli military has said that its ground troops had carried out raids against Hezbollah in south Lebanon and mobilised more forces, despite calls for de-escalation after a week of air strikes that killed hundreds.

Last week, addressing from the podium of United Nations, Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu termed Iran as ‘curse’, and said that the war can come to an end now, but for all that has to happen is for Hamas to surrender, lay down its arms and release all the hostages. 

"If Hamas stays in power in Gaza, it will regroup, rearm and attack Israel again. So Hamas has got to go. Israel will fight "until we achieve total victory" if Hamas does not surrender," Netanyahu said.