US prepares for Iran retaliation after Israel hit Tehran's Syria embassy

The United States is on high alert and preparing for a possible attack by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in the region in response to Israel's strike on the Iranian embassy in Syria, a US official said.

"We're definitely at a high state of vigilance," the official said in confirming a CNN report that said an attack could come in the next week.

Israeli warplanes bombed Iran's embassy in Damascus on Monday in a strike that killed an Iranian military commander and marked a major escalation in Israel's war with its regional adversaries.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has said that seven Iranian military advisers died in the strike, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in its Quds Force, which is an elite paramilitary force.

Iran has said it reserves the right "to take a decisive response."

US President Joe Biden discussed the threat from Iran in a phone call on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The US has picked up intelligence that Iran is planning a retaliatory attack that would include a swarm of Shahed loitering drones and cruise missiles," CBS News reported on Friday.

"Officials say the timing and target are unknown, but a proportional response to the Damascus attack would be to hit an Israeli diplomatic facility. The attack is likely to come between now and the end of Ramadan next week," the American news site reported.

Iran tells US to step aside

Iran said it asked the US to "step aside" as it responds to Israeli attack on its embassy.

"In a written message, the Islamic Republic of Iran warns US leadership not to get dragged in Netanyahu's trap for US: Stay away so you won't get hurt," Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president's deputy chief of staff for political affairs, wrote on X.

"In response US asked Iran not to target American facilities."

Meanwhile, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah called the Israeli attack on the Iranian diplomatic mission a turning point and said Tehran's retaliation is "inevitable."

Israeli media reported that authorities in Tel Aviv are considering opening shelters amid Iranian threats of retaliation.

The Israeli army has decided to call up reserve soldiers to its Aerial Defense Array, in a move described by local media as a precautionary measure against possible retaliatory attacks from Iran.