International Desk, Bangladesh Global: A strike by Iran on Israel is a "real and credible" threat, the White House has said, as fears of an imminent attack by Tehran grow.
Tensions are high over the possibility Iran will retaliate for an air strike that killed senior Iranian commanders nearly two weeks ago.
US officials had told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that a major attack on Israel could happen imminently.
Israel has said it is ready "defensively and offensively".
"I can't speak to the size, scale, scope of what that attack might look like," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday. But he added that the Iranian threat was "viable," saying Washington was "watching this very, very closely".
He said: "We are in constant communication with our Israeli counterparts about making sure that they can defend themselves against those kinds of attacks".
Iran backs Hamas, the armed Palestinian group fighting Israel in Gaza, as well as various proxy groups throughout the region, including some - such as Hezbollah in Lebanon - that frequently carry out strikes against the Israelis.
On Friday, Hezbollah said it had launched "dozens" of rockets from Lebanon towards Israel. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman said around 40 missiles and two explosive drones had been fired. No casualties were reported and there were no indications of involvement from other actors.
A US official told CBS the barrage of rockets and drones was separate from any expected Iranian attack on Israel.
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