Two Israeli officials told Axios that Israeli intelligence indicates that Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, perhaps before the US presidential elections, which will be held next Tuesday.

According to what the website reported on Thursday evening, the Iranian attack may be carried out through pro-Iranian factions in Iraq, and not directly from Iranian territory, in an attempt to avoid another Israeli attack against strategic targets in Iran.

The sources added that intelligence information indicates that the expected attack may be carried out using a large number of drones and ballistic missiles.

An American official said that the United States does not know whether the decision to attack from Iraq has already been taken, but that if Iran decides to attack, its preparations for it will be done quickly.

This came as the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami, said in press statements on Thursday that "Israel made a mistake when it attacked Iran," and stressed that Iran's response "will be different from any scenario" that Israel might expect.

For his part, the deputy head of the Revolutionary Guards, Ali Fadavi, said that "the Iranian response to Israel is inevitable," adding that we can "target everything Israel has in one operation."

"Iran will definitely respond to the Israeli attack on its territory," said Mohammad Mohammadi, director of the office of Iran's supreme leader. "Our response will be severe and the enemy will regret it," he said.

On Wednesday, CNN quoted a "high-ranking" Iranian source as saying that "Iran is planning a decisive and painful response that will likely come before the elections."