WASHINGTON   -   The US is on high alert and actively preparing for a “significant” at­tack that could come as soon as within the next week by Iran targeting Israeli or American as­sets in the region in re­sponse to Monday’s Is­raeli strike in Damascus that killed top Iranian commanders, a senior administration official tells CNN.

Senior US officials cur­rently believe that an attack by Iran is “inevi­table” – a view shared by their Israeli counter­parts, that official said. 

The two governments are working to get in position ahead of what is to come, as they an­ticipate that Iran’s at­tack could unfold in a number of different ways – and that both US and Israeli assets and personnel are at risk of being targeted.

A forthcoming Iranian attack was a major topic of discussion on Presi­dent Joe Biden’s phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Net­anyahu on Thursday. As of Friday, the two govern­ments did not know when or how Iran planned to strike back, the official said. A direct strike on Is­rael by Iran is one of the worst-case scenarios that the Biden administration is bracing for, as it would guarantee rapid escala­tion of an already tumul­tuous situation in the Mid­dle East. Such a strike could lead to the Israel-Hamas war broadening into a wid­er, regional conflict – some­thing Biden has long sought to avoid.