The White House said Tuesday morning that the United States has received indications that Iran is preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel in the near future.

“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel. We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran,” an unnamed senior White House official said in a statement.

The U.S. Embassy has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza to shelter in place until further notice.

According to a U.S. official cited by CNN, the U.S. is preparing for a possible Iranian assault tonight, similar to the one in April. During that attack, Iran fired over 300 missiles and drones, but the majority were intercepted by defense systems from Israel, the U.S., and their Western and Arab allies.

“Israel had not identified any aerial threat yet from Iran…. Israel’s aerial defense and warplanes are ready for potential attacks. Both the United States and Israel were following the developments in Iran,” said IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari.  “Iranian fire on Israel will bring consequences — I won’t elaborate beyond that.”

“We are following the threat seriously,” Hagari added later. “We ask the public to follow the Home Front Command guidelines. The fire from Iran could be wide in scope.”

“When a siren sounds, you are asked to enter a protected area and stay there until we notify you otherwise,” Hagari said.

These warnings comes as Israel launches a ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, on the heels of killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah and decimating the terrorist organization’s senior military leadership, as well as after killing and injuring thousands of other Hezbollah terrorists in pager and walkie-talkie explosions.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)