Jennifer Griffin is live at the Pentagon with more Jen
Dagan. I've been covering the Middle East,
as you know, for 30 years and I have never
seen things so tense,
with the potential for a wider war to break out
between Israel and Iran,
which could draw the US and others into
a wider Middle East war.
Until now the US has been facing Iranian proxies.
But in the wake of the Israeli air strike on
April 1st in Damascus that killed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
General and six other their top Iranian commanders responsible for
arming Iran's proxy groups, Iran appears poised to avenge that
attack with a massive show of force targeting Israeli territory.
In recent days, the US has pre positioned additional military
assets in the region.
The attacks by the Houthis,
supported by Iran, continue to threaten US ships in the
Red Sea.
Tensions are at an all time high.
U.S. officials tell me that they have seen movement suggesting
that Iranian ballistic missiles could launch any day,
Israeli warplanes are patrolling the skies along the borders,
and Israel's military has been put on high alert for
a massive missile and drone strike that is expected to
emanate from Iran.
The US Embassy told Americans who work for the embassy
not to leave Tel Aviv,
Jerusalem, or Beersheba and to avoid travel to the north
or South of Israel.
The head of U.S. central Command,
General Eric Corilla, was in Israel to meet with Israel's
Minister of Defense,
Yoav Gallant, who praised General Corilla as a true friend
of Israel.
General Corilla briefed his Israeli defense counterparts on the latest
intelligence and is still in the region.
We're comfortable with the the way we have communicated the
the reality of this threat
and the conversations that we're having with Israel.
What we are not going to sit back and be
comfortable on is
knowing exactly what this is going to look like and
that that's why we are working so intensively
to make sure that that Israel has what it needs
to defend itself.
What's unusual is for Iran to Telegraph its response.
It usually relies on proxies and terrorism,
with the US releasing what is clearly very specific intelligence.
You can't rule out that Iran will look for an
off ramp to avoid a war that could draw in
U.S.
forces. All eyes now on the Supreme Leader,
Ayatollah Khamenei and Dagan, If I could just add to
your discussion on Seven O 2.
We've just received a statement from CIA Director Bill Burns,
an urgent statement about the Seven O 2 FISA
vote that is upcoming, and he explained how crucial this
702
basically to renew it is for the US intelligence community.
He said that they would not be able to track
the Chinese
networks that bring fentanyl through Mexico and up through the
border into the United States.
They could not have killed
Al Qaeda leader Alman Alza Wahiri.
They could not have stopped or or found the network
that attacked the Colonial Pipeline.
So this 702 legislation needs to be renewed and without
any amendments or warrants because it would be so dangerous
otherwise.
Dagan, thank you so much.
Jennifer Griffin at the Pentagon.