The United States has seen indications that Iran is preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel, a senior White House official told NBC News on Tuesday.
The official warned that any direct attack on Israel by Iran “will carry severe consequences for Iran.”
“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack,” the official said.
Iran’s suspected planned attack came as Israeli ground forces invaded south Lebanon as part of an attack on Hezbollah, the militant group backed by Iran. The number of Israeli troops who have entered Lebanon is in “the low hundreds,” an Israeli official told NBC News.
Israel last week killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a bombing in Beirut, Lebanon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 250 points by 10 a.m. ET, spurred by a surge in the cost of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, on fears of heightened tensions in the petroleum-rich Middle East.
WTI November contracts were up nearly 3% by mid-morning, hovering shy of $70 a barrel.
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