White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre commented on Wednesday on reports that Iran plans to attack Israel in retaliation for the recent Israeli strikes on Iranian military targets. Speaking at a news briefing, Jean-Pierre said that the United States will support Israel if Iran does attack. "Iran should not respond to Israel's retaliation. They should not. If they do, we will support Israel in defending itself, but they should not," she stated. Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller would not offer an assessment about what Iran “may or may not do,” but reiterated the US believes “they should not respond.” Earlier on Wednesday, a high-ranking source told CNN that Iran will attack Israel again soon, likely before the US presidential election next Tuesday. According to the source, Iran's retaliation for Israel's air strikes on its military targets last week will be significant. “The response of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the aggression of the Zionist regime will be definitive and painful," the source claimed, adding that it “will probably take place before the day of the US presidential election.” On Friday night, Israel launched a large-scale attack in Iran, destroying Russian-supplied air defense systems as well as factories that produce Iran's ballistic missiles. Israel's attack, which has been dubbed “Operation Days of Repentance,” was carried out in retaliation for Iran's massive ballistic missile attack on the Jewish State on October 1, when Iran fired 181 ballistic missiles. Earlier this week, Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami warned Israel that it would face "bitter consequences" for its attack on Iranian military targets. Related articles: 'We reserve the right to respond to Israeli aggression' 'Iran is preparing to respond to Israel' 'Israel made a mistake because its leaders were afraid of Putin' 'We hit a component related to Iran's nuclear program' Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said following the Israeli strikes that Iran does not seek war, but will defend the rights of the Iranian people and their homeland, and respond to the "aggression of the Zionist entity.” Iranian media downplayed the severity of the Israeli strikes, though satellite images of the sites hit by Israel have shown that significant damage was caused to several missile production sites, as well as to a building related to Iran's nuclear program.
