Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, has received word from President Joe Biden that the United States will not support or participate in any Israeli counteroffensive against Iran. The two leaders spoke over the phone when the message was delivered to PM Netanyahu. Joe Biden informed that the United States will strongly oppose any Israeli counterattack against Iran. The development transpired after Iran unleashed a flurry of ballistic missiles and drones into Israel on 13th April.
A senior White House official revealed that President Biden stated, “Will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran and will not support such operations,” to which the Jewish Prime Minister replied that “he understood.” Joe Biden also hailed Israeli defence against the assault from the Islamic Republic. The White House official reported that the US President also informed his counterpart that the Iranian attack was thwarted by the “joint defensive efforts” of the US, Israel and other nations in the region. “You got a win. Take the win,” Joe Biden expressed during the call.
The President reportedly mentioned, “Tonight is a win because the current US assessment is that Iran’s attacks had been largely unsuccessful and demonstrated Israel’s superior military capability.” A readout from the White House noted that Joe Biden voiced, “Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks, sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel,” before the Prime Minister.
According to US assessments, nearly every Iranian drone and missile fired into Israel has been destroyed. “No cruise missile made an impact,” the official declared, noting that nothing of “value” was damaged. Joe Biden strongly denounced the strikes carried out by “Iran and its proxies operating out of Yemen, Syria and Iraq” in an official statement following his conversation with PM Netanyahu.
White House official release quoted the president, “At my direction, to support the defence of Israel, the US military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defence destroyers to the region over the course of the past week. We helped Israel take down nearly all the incoming drones and missiles.” Joe Biden claimed that he reiterated Washington’s “ironclad commitment to the security of Israel” to Netanyahu.
In addition, the President announced that he would “convene my fellow G7 leaders to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack” on 14th April. He claimed, “My team will engage with their counterparts across the region. And we will stay in close touch with Israel’s leaders. And while we have not seen attacks on our forces or facilities today, we will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people.”
Joe Biden met with his security aides to discuss the situation shortly after Iran launched more than 200 missiles and drones into Israel. However, he and the senior advisors raised grave concerns that an “Israeli response to Iran’s attack on Israel would lead to a regional war with catastrophic consequences.”
While Biden has said that the US will not support any offensive against Iran by Israel, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that if Iran attacks Israeli or American forces in the region, US will not hesitate to take defensive measures. He said, “We do not seek conflict with Iran, but we will not hesitate to act to protect our forces and support the defense of Israel.”
The Israeli military asserted that the “vast majority” of Iranian missiles and drones were intercepted by its troops. It also acknowledged that several “small hits” were detected in southern Israel resulting in minimal damage to infrastructure. “More than 200 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were fired from Iran. Most of the threats were intercepted outside of Israeli airspace,” announced Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
