US on alert for possible Iranian attacks on Israel and American facilities: Officials

WASHINGTON — The U.S. is on high alert for a potential attack on Israel or on American facilities in the Middle East in retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed Iranian commanders, two U.S. officials told USA TODAY.

Iran vowed revenge after suspected Israeli warplanes bombed its embassy in Damascus on Monday, killing a top Iranian military commander, a major escalation in Israel's war with its regional adversaries.

The Biden administration is concerned about the possibility Iranian might attack U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria, sources said, and American forces were in a heightened state of vigilance.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced the deaths of seven military advisers in the Damascus strike, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in its Quds Force, an elite foreign espionage and paramilitary arm.

Iran promised "to take a decisive response."

The White House said Thursday night that President Joe Biden had discussed the threat from Iran in a callwith Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Steps are being taken to protect U.S. troops and interests in the region, an official said Friday,

Biden officials declined to talk publicly about U.S. intelligence behind the reported threat from Iran. They have acknowledged that Iran poses a viable threat to Israel's security.

Netanyahu warned Thursday night that Israel would punish "whoever harms us or plans to harm us."

"For years, Iran has been acting against us both directly and via its proxies; therefore, Israel is acting against Iran and its proxies, defensively and offensively," Netanyahu told his security cabinet.

Israel is involved in a multi-pronged conflict with its arch-nemesis Iran, which supports the Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, Houthi militants in Yemen, and Shia militias in Iraq, in addition to working closely with the government of President Bashar al Assad in Syria.

The U.S. struck Iranian proxy forces in Iraq and Syria on Feb. 2, after American forces in the region endured more than 150 attacks in the previous four months.

Contributing: Dan Morrison, USA TODAY; Reuters.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iran may attack Israel or US bases in Iraq and Syria: Sources