US officials say Washington will respond to any Iranian attack on American interests – report

Washington will respond to any Iranian attack that targets American soldiers, bases or interests, according to US officials quoted by Saudi paper Al-Hadath.

The unnamed officials quoted in the report echoed previous US comments that Washington has sent a clear message to Tehran that it was not involved in an April 1 airstrike on an Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital of Damascus. The strike killed two generals and several other commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, a US-designated terror group.

The Saudi paper reports that the US officials are confident that Iran has received the message, having been told, “We are not Israel and Israel is the one that launched the attack.”

Both Tehran and Damascus have blamed Israel for the strike and vowed revenge, although Jerusalem has not commented on the matter.

A senior US administration official also quoted in the Al-Hadath report says that in the past, Iran has launched attacks using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, both directly and through its various proxies in the region, and that these are likely the weapons it would use in a potential strike.

Iran has accumulated thousands of these weapons, developed their accuracy and range, and transferred them to terror groups and militias in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, the official adds, stressing that they could be used in either a unilateral attack or in cooperation with its proxies.

However, the US does not expect Iran to transfer shipments of chemical weapons as cruise or ballistic missiles, according to the report, given that using them would be considered an escalation and would be likely to bring a strong response from Washington and its allies.