President Joe Biden told a reporter this week that he does not support an Israeli assault on Iranian nuclear sites in response to Iran’s missile attack on Tuesday which was in response to the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Within the most recent attack, Iran shot more than 180 ballistic missiles straight at Israel, hoping to get past the country’s iron dome defenses.
The United States did work together to stop many of Iran’s missiles, which Biden called a “testament to Israeli military might and the U.S. military” and “a testament to planning between the U.S. and Israel to expect and defend against the attack we expected.”
In response to Iran’s direct attack, which it usually has its puppet groups carry out, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to do the same.
“We’ll talk to the Israelis about what they want to do, but all seven of us (the G7) agree that they have the right to react, but they should do so in a fair way,” Biden said.
Analysts think that Israel might launch a response attack against Iran’s oil stores or nuclear sites. President Biden was asked if he would back this idea. “The answer is no,” the Democratic president quickly replied.
Biden went on, saying that on behalf of the U.S., he still offers “full unity and support to Israel and its people,” which seemed to go against what he had just said.
At the same time, U.S. Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell talked about the rising tensions and continued war. He said that the Biden administration would like to work with Israel to figure out the best way to respond. He did say, though, that the Middle East is on a “knife’s edge,” which means that any further tensions could lead to a full-scale war in the area.
During a recent interview, Campbell said that what Iran did was “highly foolish” and that Israel needed to send a “return message.”
He said, “I think we tried to make it clear that we back some of the things that Israel has done. We are very worried about a long-term or major set of operations on the ground in Lebanon.”
Author: Steven Sinclaire