U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday affirmed that Washington's commitment to Israel's security, particularly against threats from Iran, remains "ironclad. Biden said he told this to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a "long discussion" they had ” regarding the ongoing war in Gaza. 

“They’re threatening to launch a significant attack in Israel,” Biden said at a press conference alongside Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. "We're going to do all we can to protect Israel's security.” 

The president's remarks come following U.S. assessments that Iran is preparing to launch an “imminent” attack on Israel that could involve drones or high-precision missiles. According to a Bloomberg Report quoting people familiar with the intelligence, the attack could either emanate from Iranian territory or be carried out by Iran’s proxies in the region. 

“If Iran attacks from its territory – Israel will respond and attack in Iran,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz tweeted in Farsi on Wednesday. 

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to punish Israel in response to its alleged airstrike in Damascus that targeted senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) last week. Israel has not formally claimed responsibility for the airstrike. 

An unnamed American official told Al Jazeera that the U.S. would help defend Israel in case of an Iranian attack, saying: “President Biden's pledge regarding the protection of Israel in the face of Iranian reinforcements did not come out of nowhere.”

The Axios news outlet reported that U.S. CENTCOM Commander Gen. Erik Kurilla is expected to visit Israel on Thursday to coordinate possible responses to an Iranian strike. The general’s visit is part of a larger effort by U.S. and Israeli officials across agency levels to prepare for an Iranian response, officials on both sides told Axios.

Read the full article at All Israel News.