US President Joe Biden and the leaders of four European countries are calling on Iran to refrain from attacking Israel.

Biden spoke on the telephone with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy on Monday to discuss the situation in the Middle East.

In a joint statement, they said, "We expressed our support for the defense of Israel against Iranian aggression and against attacks by Iran-backed terrorist groups."

The statement said, "We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel."

The move comes as Tehran appears poised to retaliate against Israel over the assassination of the Hamas political leader in Iran on July 31.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Monday that the US shares the assessment made by Israel that something could happen as soon as this week by Iran and its proxies.