White House official says preparations are in place for a major Iranian attack this week

On August 13, Kirby, the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said that the United States is ready to respond to a major attack by Iran or its Middle East proxies this week. Kirby said that after Iran and Hamas blamed Israel for the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran last month, the United States has stepped up its military deployment in the region and shares Israel's concerns about a possible Iranian attack. "We share the same concerns and expectations as the Israeli side about the possible timing of the [Iranian] attack, which could happen this week. We must be prepared for a series of major attacks that could happen. We certainly don't want to see Israel being attacked like in April and have to defend themselves. But if they do encounter that situation, we will continue to help them defend themselves."