The U.S. Embassy in Israel issued a security alert on Thursday restricting government employees and their families from traveling outside Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Beer Sheva for personal matters. Washington’s warning aims to protect U.S. citizens from an expected impending Iranian attack on Israel, which U.S. officials told CBS could happen as soon as Friday.
Israeli forces bombed an Iranian consular building in Syria last Monday, killing seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the attack on the consulate was “like they attacked our territory” and vowed to take revenge in what experts worry could be a direct strike from Iranian soil rather than from regional proxy groups. Israel said it would target Iran if Tehran did so—escalating the threat of a wider war.
Iran also reportedly sent a message to Washington via several Arab countries this week warning the United States not to get involved in the fight between Israel and Iran and threatening to attack U.S. troops in the Middle East if Washington does so. On Friday, a U.S. defense official told reporters that the Defense Department is “moving additional assets to the region to bolster regional deterrence efforts and increase force protection for U.S. forces.