U.S. Warns Iran of ‘Serious Risk’ if It Conducts Major Attack on Israel

The U.S. has warned Iran that its newly elected government and economy could suffer a devastating blow if it were to mount a major attack against Israel, a U.S. official said. 

The warning has been communicated to Tehran directly as well as through intermediaries, said the official, who declined to provide specifics. 

But the U.S. has also made clear that it is ready to use force to defend Israel, as it did in April. Stealthy F-22 fighters have been deployed to a base in the Middle East, the U.S. Central Command said Wednesday.  

The U.S. has sent more ships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles to the region. A U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, is also in the Gulf of Oman. The Navy has also moved an F/A-18 fighter squadron from that carrier to a base in a Middle East nation to position the aircraft closer to the action should hostilities erupt, according to another U.S. official.

U.S. officials still don’t have clear indications of the scope and timing of an Iranian response, unlike in the days leading up to Iran’s April 13 missile and drone attack on Israel. Tehran carried out that attack in retaliation for Israel’s killing of a senior Iranian paramilitary commander and other Iranian military officers in Damascus. 

Based on the latest intelligence, officials think a response, if it happens, may now occur over the weekend.

“It’s pushing to the right a little bit,” according to a third U.S. official, who declined to discuss intelligence but said the indications are Iran is “still planning.”

Officials also don’t know for sure whether Hezbollah plans to attack at the same time in a coordinated offensive with Iran or separately. Hezbollah has a large arsenal of missiles that can reach Israel and the concern is that the group and Iran might attack at the same time to try to overwhelm Israel’s missile defenses. 

“Last time we got more of a heads up, and this time people are making their best guesses,” said the third U.S. official. 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was sworn in last week, is thought to be open to renewing dialogue with the West, though fundamental policy has long been set by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.

Write to Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com and Lara Seligman at lara.seligman@wsj.com