Alleged Warning of 'Imminent' Iranian Attack Has Saudi Arabia and US on High Alert

Saudi Arabia and Iran cut ties in 2016 following Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shia cleric and subsequent attack on the country's embassy in Tehran by an angry crowd. Riyadh accused both the cleric and Tehran of meddling in its domestic affairs. Iran denied all the meddling accusations.

The United States has been warned by Saudi Arabia via shared intelligence of an "imminent" attack from Iran in a move that put the American military and other militaries in the Middle East on an "elevated alert" level, US media reported on Tuesday, citing Saudi and US officials.

Saudi officials allegedly claimed that in order to distract attention from domestic protests, Iran is poised to carry out attacks on the kingdom and Iraq's Erbil, where Americans troops are based.

The White House National Security Council expressed concern over the warnings and said that it was ready to respond if Iran went forward with an attack.

"We are concerned about the threat picture, and we remain in constant contact through military and intelligence channels with the Saudis," a National Security Council spokesperson said. "We will not hesitate to act in the defense of our interests and partners in the region."

On Tuesday, US media reported that Saudi Arabia, the United States and several other countries in the MIddle East raised threat levels due to the potential for "imminent attacks" by Iran.

“I’m not going to talk about specific force protection levels. I can say that we do remain concerned about the threat situation in the region,” US Defense Department spokesperson Pat Ryde said during a press briefing when asked about the reports. He added that Washington maintained regular contact with its Saudi partners on threat information that they may provide.

Iran has accused the US and Israel of stoking unrest in the country that began in mid-September after the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who fell into a coma and died in hospital several days after being detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly. While the mainstream media claimed that the young woman had been beaten into a coma by police, CCTV footage released by authorities appeared to show that Amini did not face any physical abuse while in custody.

A probe conducted for Iran’s parliament revealed that Amini was not subjected to any bodily harm. Iran’s Legal Medical Organization also stated that the young woman's death was caused by cerebral hypoxia which resulted in hypotension and multiple organ failure. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has lambasted the US for meddling in Tehran's domestic affairs. Washington, in the meantime, has admitted to taking “aggressive steps” to support Iranians taking part in protests.

Commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Hossein Salami also warned those "insitigating" protests against interfering in Iran's internal affairs:

"This is our last warning, because you are interfering in our internal affairs through these media," Salami said last week. "You are involved in this matter and know that you are vulnerable."