US President Joe Biden said he hoped that Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iranian military targets early Saturday morning marked the end of the round of direct attacks and counterattacks between the two arch-enemies.
“It looks like they didn’t hit anything other than military targets,” Biden told reporters, adding, “I hope this is the end.”
He spoke to reporters en route to Pittsburgh after receiving a half-hour intelligence briefing. He confirmed that Israel had given his administration advance warning of the strike, which took place 26 days after Iran’s direct ballistic missile attack on Israel.
The United States had publicly and privately urged Israel to constrain its attack and to choose retaliatory options that would not prompt another direct Iranian attack on Israel. It had asked Israel not to strike Iran’s nuclear sites or its oil fields.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Raphael Grossi confirmed on X that Iran’s nuclear sites had not been impacted by the Israel aerial strike.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bristled on Saturday night at reports that US dictates had been the determining factor in charting a retaliatory strike on Iran.
Israel denies US pressure on Iran attack plans
The Prime Minister’s office rejected reports that Israel scrapped a planned attack on Iranian gas and oil facilities “due to American pressure, which is completely false.”
“Israel chose in advance the targets of the attack in accordance with its national interests, and not according to American dictates.
“So it was – and so it will be,” he stressed.
The US has been heavily engaged in diplomatic efforts to end Israel’s multi-front war with Iran and its proxies, particularly in light of the upcoming US election and Biden’s anticipated exit from the White House on January 20, when his four-year presidential term ends.
It hopes to secure ceasefire deals to end the wars on Israel’s southern and northern borders as well as a hostage deal that would secure the release of the remaining 101 captives in Gaza.
Both US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US special envoy Amos Hochstein were in the Middle East last week.
Hochstein visited Lebanon. Blinken visited Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. He also met in London with Emirati, Jordanian, and Lebanese officials on Friday. CIA Director William Burns is expected to hold a new round of hostage talks in Doha on Sunday.
Among the complicating factors is the potential for another Iranian strike on Israel in response to the Saturday morning attack.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s attack, stressing that it was concerned by the “serious repercussions that may result.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry wrote on X that Tehran was “entitled and obliged to defend against acts of external aggression” even as it was “cognizant of its responsibilities for regional peace and security.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that his country had no limits when it comes to defending its interests, its territorial integrity, and its people, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Two regional officials briefed by Iran told Reuters that several high-level meetings were held in Tehran to determine the scope of Iran’s response. One official said the damage was “very minimal” but added that several Revolutionary Guards bases in and around Tehran were also hit.
The US and the international community have feared that the continuation of such strikes could spark an all-out direct war. The United States has taken to the skies to defend Israel against the two direct attacks from Tehran that took place in April and October. It has not, however, taken part in any offensive actions against Iran.
The White House said that Biden had on Saturday “directed that every effort be taken to protect our forces and help defend Israel against any potential responses from Iran and its proxies.”
A senior government official told reporters “We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation.”
A senior Biden administration official stressed that the US “was not a participant in this military operation.”
The official said Biden and his national security team had “worked with the Israelis over recent weeks to encourage” a proportional response with low risk of civilian harm and that this is what happened.
In his conversation with Netanyahu earlier this month, the official said, Biden had “encouraged the prime minister to design a response that served to deter further attacks against Israel while reducing risk of further escalation. And that is our objective; it’s Israel’s objective, as well.”
He warned, however, that should Iran respond to Saturday’s Israeli strike, the US would be “fully prepared to once again defend against any attack. We recently deployed a THAAD battery, which is a ballistic missile defense system, to Israel. And we have worked to strengthen Israel’s air defense systems in the run-up to tonight’s response,” the official said.
Tehran, however, charged that the United States was complicit in Saturday’s attack, especially since the Israeli planes flew over Iraqi airspace.
Iran’s mission to the UN wrote on X that, “The Zionist regime’s warplanes attacked several Iranian military and radar sites from Iraqi airspace, approximately 70 miles from Iran’s border.
“Iraqi airspace is under the occupation, command, and control of the US military. Conclusion: The US complicity in this crime is certain,” it said.
President Issac Herzog, in lauding the IDF’s successful strike on Iran, thanked “our great friend the USA for a true alliance and its open and hidden cooperation.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Israel had a right to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile attack, but urged all parties to show restraint.
“I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression. I’m equally clear that we need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint. Iran should not respond.”
The French Foreign Ministry said, “France urges all parties to abstain from any escalation and action that could worsen the extremely tense context in the region.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for an end to the direct Israeli-Iranian strikes.
]“My message to Iran is clear: We cannot continue with massive reactions of escalation. This must end now. This will provide an opportunity for peaceful development in the Middle East. What is important is that there needs to be a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages. I call on all parties to do this.”
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry in a message on Facebook said it condemned all actions that threatened the stability of the region.
“Egypt stresses its position that a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip should be reached quickly within the framework of a deal through which hostages are released given that it is the only way to de-escalate,” its Foreign Ministry wrote.
The Russian Foreign Ministry urged “all parties involved to exercise restraint, stop the violence, and avoid a catastrophic scenario.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
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