WASHINGTON, October 31. /TASS/. Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days to retaliate for the recent Israeli strike, the Axios news website reported, citing Israeli sources.

Tehran could carry out the attack before the US presidential election on November 5 and employ a large number of drones and ballistic missiles, according to the report. Delivering the attack from Iraq, rather than Iran, could be an attempt by Iran to avoid another Israeli reprisal against strategic targets in Iran, Axios said.

The US doesn't know if Tehran has made a decision to go ahead with the strike soon, a US official told Axios.

On October 26, the Israel Defense Forces said it struck military sites inside Iran in response to "numerous continuous attacks." Iran’s air defense forces said in a statement that military facilities in the Ilam, Tehran and Khuzestan provinces came under attack, but suffered limited damage. At least four Iranian soldiers and one civilian were killed in the Israeli strikes.

On October 1, Iran launched a massive missile strike on Israel in response to the assassinations of key figures in the leadership of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Israel vowed to respond.