If Israel chooses to react to a widespread drone and missile attack on Israeli territory over the course of the night, President Joe Biden has informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States will not engage in a counteroffensive against Iran, according to U.S. officials.
The area is on edge due to the fear of outright violence breaking out between the region’s ancient enemies and engulfing the US, prompting pleas for moderation from major international powers and Arab countries to prevent further escalation.
The senior national security spokesman for the White House, John Kirby, told ABC’s “This Week” program on Sunday that while the United States will continue to support Israel in defending itself, it does not want conflict.
In a phone chat on Sunday, King Abdullah of Jordan warned Biden that any additional escalation from Israel would broaden the conflict in the region, Jordanian state media reported.
Iran launched the attack in response to what it believed to be an Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria on April 1, which resulted in the deaths of senior Revolutionary Guard commanders. The attack came after months of hostilities between Israel and Iran’s regional allies, which were sparked by the Gaza War.
But Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, along with assistance from the United States, Britain, and Jordan, shot down the majority of the more than 300 missiles and drones that attacked, the majority of which were launched from inside Iran, causing very minor damage in the country.
A 7-year-old child was gravely injured by shrapnel, and an Air Force installation in southern Israel was struck but kept operational. There were no more reports of significant harm.
Israel has signaled that retaliation from Iran is not imminent and will not act alone. Centralist Minister Benny Gantz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have said they will build a regional coalition and exact the price from Iran in the fashion and timing that is right for them. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons. Israel remains on high alert, with emergency measures expected to remain in place until late on Monday, including a ban on school activities and caps on large gatherings. Iranian army chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri said on television, “Our response will be much larger than tonight’s military action if Israel retaliates against Iran.”
Russia, China, France, and Germany, as well as Arab states Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, urged restraint, and the U.N. Security Council was set to meet at 4 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) on Sunday. The leaders of the Group of 7 nations condemned Iran’s attack and said they would work to stabilize the situation, warning in a statement that Tehran risked “an uncontrollable regional escalation.”
Analysts debated how far Iran’s attack was calibrated to cause genuine devastation in Israel or to save face at home after vows of revenge while avoiding a major new war. In Gaza, Iran’s attack drew applause from many Palestinians as a rare payback for the Israeli offensive on their enclave, which has killed at least 33,000 people. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized an Israel-linked cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the risks to the world economy of a wider conflict.
(Reuters)
