The United States, Israel’s preeminent ally, has military forces in several places across the Middle East. But Iran is not expected to target them in order to avoid a direct conflict with the United States, according to U.S. and Iranian officials who spoke anonymously about intelligence gathered on the expected attacks, which they were not authorized to discuss publicly.
Israel and Iran do not maintain any direct channels of communication, making the chances far greater that each side could misread the other’s intentions. And an Iranian attack would heighten the risk of a wider conflict that could drag in multiple countries, including the United States.
In remarks to reporters Friday, President Joe Biden said that he expected a military attack against Israel “sooner than later” and that his message to Iran was “don’t.”
“We are devoted to the defense of Israel,” he added. “We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed.”
In anticipation of an Iranian strike, several countries, including the United States, issued new guidelines to their citizens for travel in Israel and the surrounding region. The Israeli military said its forces were on high alert. Details about Iran’s potential attack on Israel are closely guarded, but U.S. and Israeli officials have assessed that it might involve drones and missiles. Iran has the largest arsenal of ballistic missiles and drones in the Middle East, including cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles, experts say, as well as short-range and long-range ballistic missiles with ranges up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles). Iran also has a large inventory of drones that have a range of about 1,200 to 1,550 miles and are capable of flying low to evade radar.
The exact form an attack on Israel might take, what kinds of targets would be involved and the precise timing all remain unclear.
The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East, Gen. Erik Kurilla, traveled to Israel this week to coordinate a response should Iran attack, U.S. officials said.
