Source: CNBC.com
Iran on Saturday launched attacks against Israel, according to U.S. officials, escalating long-standing tensions between the two nations that have the potential to trigger a regional war.
“Iran has begun an airborne attack against Israel,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a Saturday statement. “The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran.”
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Saturday that Israel would work “in close coordination” with the U.S. and regional partners to intercept the launches.
“We are monitoring the threat in the airspace. It is a threat that takes several hours to reach the territory of the State of Israel,” he added.
The Biden administration is expecting Iran’s attack to target Israeli government sites, not civilian or religious sites and not U.S. assets in the area, U.S. officials told NBC News.
The administration is anticipating the attack to involve 100 drones, dozens of cruise missiles and dozens of ballistic missiles, one of the officials added.
Ahead of the attacks on Saturday, President Joe Biden was en route back to the White House, earlier than initially scheduled, to meet with his national security team, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, amid the growing prospect of an Iranian strike….