President Joe Biden said Friday that he expects Iran to attack Israel soon, and reiterated that the United States would support and defend Israel if such an attack were to occur.

At a White House event, when asked by reporters how close he thought an attack from Iran might be, Biden said that while he didn’t want to discuss “protected information,” he expected It was “as soon as possible”.

Asked what his message was to Iran, Biden said, “No.”

He said that we are dedicated to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel, we will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed.

Earlier, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that U.S. officials are in “constant communication” with their Israeli counterparts “to make sure they can defend themselves against these types of attacks.” “

“We believe it’s still a viable threat,” Kirby said. “We are doing everything we can to make sure that Israel can defend itself.”

Iranian officials, including the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have vowed to retaliate against Israel for the attack on its consulate in Damascus.

In response, Israel has threatened that if Iran is attacked, it will attack directly.

NBC news reported last week that an Iranian attack on Israel could focus on military or intelligence targets rather than civilians, two US officials said. Officials also said the Biden administration has begun considering ways to respond to various possible retaliatory actions by Iran.

Iran has accused Israel of attacking its consulate in Damascus on April 1. Israeli officials have said it was a building disguised as a diplomatic mission, and is used by Iran’s Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.