A senior White House official has told Axios that the US has indications that Iran is preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel in the coming hours..

The White House official said: ‘We are actively supporting preparations to defend Israel against this attack. ‘Any direct military attack by Iran against Israel would have dire consequences for Iran,’ the White House official said.

A senior Israeli official told Axios that the latest intelligence indicates the attack will be carried out in the next few hours, with the official saying the warning came from the US around 12pm local time.

The expected Iranian attack comes shortly after Israel began its invasion of southern Lebanon on Monday, targeting Hezbollah.