DUBAI, April 13. /TASS/. The United States believes that Tehran is likely to attack Israel in the early morning of April 14 in order to retaliate against the strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, a US official told the Al Jazeera television channel.

"We are deeply concerned about the prospect of a large-scale attack on Israel," he said. "It is highly likely that Iran will begin an attack on Israel in the early hours of tomorrow morning, on Sunday morning."

According to the American official, pro-Iranian forces in Iraq and Syria could be engaged in the attack. The official also added that "the US will defend Israel and is committed to countering a possible Iranian attack."

"Our additional military capabilities allow us to counter any attack by Iran and its proxies," he concluded.

On April 1, Israel hit the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing several high-ranking officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including General Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Tehran vowed to retaliate to the attack.

Bloomberg reported earlier citing sources that the US and its allies believe that retaliatory strikes by Iran against military and government targets in Israel are imminent. According to the sources, the potential attack may happen in the coming days, with the use of high-precision missiles. The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel expected the attack by Iran on Friday or Saturday.