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The United States is on high alert and is preparing for a possible attack by Iran on Israeli or American interests in the region in response to Israel's airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Syria, a US official said on Friday.
"We are without a doubt in a state of high alert," said the official, confirming an announcement first made on the CNN television channel, that the attack could happen during the coming week.
It was believed to be Israeli jets that attacked the Iranian embassy in Damascus on Monday, marking a significant escalation of the conflict.
US President Joe Biden discussed the issue during a phone call on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Our teams have been in regular and continuous contact since that moment. The United States fully supports Israel's defense against threats from Iran," said a senior official in President Biden's administration.
Meanwhile, the commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards warned on Friday that "our brave men will punish the Zionist regime," escalating threats to Israel after an airstrike earlier this week killed seven senior guardsmen, including two generals.
The attack, widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, destroyed a consular section of the Iranian embassy in Syria. The attack on an Iranian diplomatic compound was a significant escalation in what has been a long backstage war between the two hostile countries, and Israel has been bracing for a response.
Tensions rose as the six-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza continues, rekindling fears of a widening regional conflict. The Islamist militant group Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for 17 years and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Britain and the European Union, is one of the groups backed by Iran, along with the paramilitary Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Hezbollah and the Houthi group have carried out attacks on the outskirts of the fighting in Gaza. The Hezbollah group engages in daily exchanges of fire on the border with Israel, and the Houthi group regularly attacks commercial ships passing through the Red Sea.
On Friday, thousands of people attended the funeral in Tehran for seven slain Revolutionary Guard officials, holding anti-Israel and anti-American slogans.
The funeral was held on Quds Day, which is usually marked on the last Friday of Ramadan, a day when Iranians have traditionally shown support for the Palestinians since the 1979 Islamic Revolution./ VOA
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