Iran likely knew that the Palestinian militant group Hamas had planned “operations against Israel,” but Washington has so far no information that Tehran directed or orchestrated the deadly attack by Hamas militants, a US official said today.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US would look into additional information including “whether there were at least some within their system who either had a clearer sense of what was coming or even contributed to aspects of the planning.”

However, the official told Reuters it was premature to draw any final conclusions.

Also today, the New York Times newspaper, citing American officials, reports that the United States has collected information indicating that important Iranian leaders were taken by surprise by the unprecedented attacks by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Israel.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said yesterday that the US had no confirmation of an Iranian connection to the attack.

“We talk to our Israeli counterparts on a daily basis about this issue. We’re reviewing our information to see if we have any further information on this,” Sullivan said.