White House: We Don't Want To See Israel Defending Ourselves, But If It Happens We Will Help

JAKARTA - The United States has been preparing to face a possible major attack by Iran or its Middle East proxy this week, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Monday.

Kirby said the US had stepped up its regional troop posture and shared Israeli concerns about a possible Iranian-backed attack after the country and the Palestinian militant group Hamas accused Israel of killing the group's Head of Political Bureau in Tehran last month.

"We share the same concerns and hopes as our Israeli counterparts with respect to the possibility of time here. It could be this week," Kirby told reporters.

"We have to prepare for a possible major attack," he said.

Israel has been preparing for major attacks since last month, when a missile killed 12 young people in Israel's occupied Golan Heights, then responded by killing a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

The day after the operation, Ismail Haniyeh, Head of the Hamas Political Bureau, was killed in Tehran, sparking Iran's pledge to take revenge against Israel.

"We clearly don't want to see Israel have to defend itself against other intense attacks, as they did in April. However, if that happens to them, we will continue to help them defend themselves," Kirby said.

The Pentagon said on Sunday Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the deployment of guided missile submarines to the Middle East and for the aircraft carrier strike group Abraham Lincoln to accelerate its deployment to the region.

But a US official told Reuters the Lincoln carrier strike group is currently near the South China Sea and is likely to take more than a week to reach the Middle East.