According to the IDF, Iran launches a missile attack on Israel

According to the Israeli military, Iran launched a missile attack on Israel on Tuesday.

The Israel Defense Forces announcement came hours after a White House official told NBC News that the United States had seen signs that Iran was preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel “imminently” after Israel invaded southern Lebanon.

The White House official warned that any direct attack by Iran on Israel “will have serious consequences for Iran.”

“We are actively supporting defense preparations to defend Israel against this attack,” the official said.

That official and a Defense Department official said Iran would likely target military and government sites, rather than civilian sites.

President Joe Biden met with Vice President Kamala Harris and national security officials on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the expected attack, the White House said.

“They reviewed the status of U.S. preparations to help Israel deter attacks and protect U.S. personnel,” White House deputy press secretary Emilie Simons said in a post on the social media site X .

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem directed all U.S. government employees and their families in Israel to “shelter in place until further notice.”

The embassy said in the same statement it “reminds U.S. citizens of the continued need for caution and heightened personal security awareness as security incidents, including mortar and rocket fire and unmanned aircraft system UAS intrusions, often occur without warning.”

“The security environment remains complex and can change rapidly depending on the political situation and recent events,” the statement said.

Iran's suspected planned attack came as Israeli ground forces moved into southern Lebanon as part of an attack on Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group. The number of Israeli troops that have entered Lebanon is “in the hundreds,” an Israeli official told NBC News.

Israel killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a bomb attack in Beirut last week.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the killing of Nasrallah and a senior Revolutionary Guard commander in that attack “will not go unanswered.” Araghchi said the United States was “complicit in this crime.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 250 points by 10 a.m. ET, sparked by a rise in the cost of West Texas Intermediate crude oil on fears of rising tensions in the oil-rich Middle East.

The November WTI contract was up nearly 3% by mid-morning, hovering just shy of $70 a barrel.

In April, Iran launched an attack on Israel involving more than 300 drones and ballistic missiles after two top Iranian commanders were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Syria.

Most of the missiles and drones were shot down by the Israeli and US military.

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