US official warns of ‘quite significant consequences’ if Iran attacks Israel

A senior Biden administration official says Iran has no right to attack Israel militarily following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which was widely attributed to Israel.

“There’s absolutely no legitimate basis whatsoever for Iran to launch a military attack against Israel, which it continues to threaten,” the senior official says in a briefing with reporters.

“There’s been a sense out there that somehow, Iran now has the right to attack Israel militarily, and we completely reject that logic,” he adds.

The senior Biden administration official says the US is prepared for any contingency. “We have moved an awful lot of military force into the region, including F-22s that arrived today… We’re doing all we can to deter such an attack, to defeat an attack if it comes, and also to demonstrate to Iran that there’s a better path forward here than a military attack.”

Earlier today, Biden met in the Oval Office with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to review US military deployments to help defend Israel from an attack against Iran, the official adds.

“The consequences of such a direct attack could be quite significant, including for Iran and Iran’s economy, which I know their new government is concerned about,” the senior official adds.