President Joe Biden warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the U.S. will not take part in a counter-offensive against Iran. That is, if Israel decides to retaliate for a mass drone and missile attack on Israeli territory overnight, a White House official said.
The threat of open warfare erupting between the arch Middle East foes and dragging in the United States has put the region on edge. The threat has triggered calls for restraint from global powers and Arab nations to avoid further escalation.
U.S. media reported earlier on Sunday that Biden had informed Netanyahu he would not participate in retaliatory action in a phone call overnight. The remarks were confirmed to Reuters by a White House official.
United States Does Not Want War
“The U.S. will continue to help Israel defend itself, but does not want war.” – John Kirby, the White House’s top national security spokesperson, told ABC’s “This Week” program on Sunday.
Iran launched the attack over an Israeli strike on its consulate in Syria on April 1st. Israeli’s strike killed top Revolutionary Guards commanders and followed months of clashes between Israel and Iran’s regional allies, triggered by the war in Gaza.
However, the attack from more than 300 missiles and drones, mostly launched from inside Iran, caused only modest damage in Israel. Most were shot down with the help of the U.S., Britain and Jordan. It seems that this is exactly what Iran was after, to avoid further escalation. Sending slow drones which the Iron Dome has no problem dealing with is a sure tale tell for that.
An Air Force base in southern Israel was hit, but continued to operate as normal. A 7-year old child was seriously hurt by shrapnel. There were no other reports of serious damage.
Two senior Israeli ministers signalled on Sunday that retaliation by Israel is not imminent and it would not act alone. “We will build a regional coalition and exact the price from Iran in the fashion and timing that is right for us”, centrist minister Benny Gantz said ahead of a war cabinet meeting.
