Iran planning ‘two wave attack on Israel’ • Russia sends air defences to Iran • US working ‘around the clock’ to prevent war

Iran’s anticipated revenge attack on Israel could come in two waves, US president Joe Biden has been warned by his security chiefs.

The first is likely to come from Lebanon’s Hezbollah and then a second from Iran and its regional proxies, US officials briefed on the matter told Axios.

Mr Biden was also told on Monday that it was still unclear when Iran and Hezbollah might launch their expected assaults and what they might entail.

Tehran has said it has a “legal right” to “punish” Israel in the wake of back-to-back assassinations last week of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political chief in Tehran, and a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said an attack would be imminent on Sunday night, but Israel is still bracing for Iran’s retaliation which risks dragging the Middle East into a broader war.

Russia sends air defences to Iran
Russia is delivering advanced air defence systems and radar equipment to Iran in preparation for a major escalation with Israel.

The move came after Tehran requested more arms from its ally, Iranian officials told The New York Times, following a visit from a senior ally of Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s security council, met with Iran’s president and top security officials as the Islamic Republic weighs its response to the killing of a Hamas leader.

“We are ready to cooperate fully with Iran in various areas,” Mr Shoigu said. Moscow has grown closer to Tehran since the war in Ukraine.

Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, thanked Moscow for standing by Tehran in “difficult times” and said he was determined to expand relations with his “strategic partner”.

US working ‘around the clock’ to prevent war
The US said it was working “around the clock” to avert an all-out war in the Middle East, as Israel remained on high alert Tuesday for potential Iranian retaliation for two high-profile killings.

Joe Biden, whose country has sent extra warships and fighter jets to the region in support of Israel, held crisis talks on Monday with his national security team.

Mr Biden’s top diplomat Antony Blinken said Washington was “engaged in intense diplomacy, pretty much around the clock” to help calm tensions.