The United States is prepared for major attacks from Iran or its allies in the Middle East as early as this week, White House national security official John Kirby said on Monday.

Kirby told reporters that the United States had increased its troop presence in the region in recent days and that he shared Israel’s concerns about possible Iranian-backed attack, after the Islamic Republic and Hamas accused the Jewish state of killing the leader of the Palestinian Islamist group in Tehran last month.

“We share the same concerns and expectations as our Israeli colleagues regarding the possible timing of this event. It could be this week“A,” Kirby told reporters.

“We have to be prepared for what could be a series of serious attacks,” he added.

Israel has been bracing for a major attack since last month, when a rocket killed 12 young men in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and retaliated by killing a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

A day after this operation Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in Tehran.which prompted Iranian promises of retaliation against Israel.

“Obviously, we don’t want Israel to have to defend itself against another attack like the one in April. But if that’s what they’re attacked by, we’ll continue to help them defend themselves,” Kirby said.

The Pentagon said Sunday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the deployment of a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and that the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike groupn accelerate its deployment in the region.