American officials have received information that Israel is ready to conduct a military operation against Iran, the American television channel CBS reported.
According to sources in the media, "American officials have been informed that Israel is fully prepared to launch an operation" against the Islamic Republic. Where exactly the American side received this information from is not specified. "The United States expects that Iran may retaliate against certain US facilities in neighboring Iraq", the publication on the television channel's website notes. According to him, this is one of the reasons why the State Department ordered some of the US embassy staff to leave the Arab country.
The publication specifies that US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Stephen Witkoff, still plans to meet with Iranian representatives for a new round of negotiations on Tehran's nuclear file.
Earlier, a representative of US military circles said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegsett had authorized the "voluntary departure" of family members of US servicemen from the Middle East for security reasons. In turn, the State Department said that it had ordered some employees of the US embassy in Iraq to leave the country due to "growing tensions in the region". Commenting on these steps, Trump said: "They are being taken out because this place can be dangerous. We'll see what happens." Speaking about Iran, the US leader stressed: "They cannot get nuclear weapons. It's very simple. They cannot get nuclear weapons. We will not allow that."
In recent weeks, the Washington administration has expressed concerns that Israel is preparing to strike Iran, despite ongoing negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program. According to the Axios website, Trump warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to take such a step in a phone call on June 9.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasserzadeh said that in the event of war with the United States, the Islamic Republic would attack all American military bases in the Middle East.