Biden pressures Israel not to respond to Iran’s attack

Iran launched a barrage of rockets and drones at Israel overnight Sunday in response to the Israeli attack on Iran’s embassy in Syria on April 1.

After the attack, Israel announced a strong response, and Iran responded by making clear that its response to an Israeli counterattack would be many times as powerful as Sunday’s attack.

With help from, among others, the United States, Israel averted the attack by shooting down the Iranian rockets and drones before they did much damage. Afterwards, Biden said in a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel had shown a remarkable ability to defend itself.

But Biden at the same time informed Netanyahu that the United States will not participate in any Israeli retaliatory attack against Iran, sources in the White House told the Reuters news agency and several American media.

Biden said he should consider the successful shooting down of nearly all of the rockets and drones a major victory because the attack was largely unsuccessful and demonstrated Israel’s military superiority.

CNN writes that the formulation was a hint to Netanyahu that an Israeli counterattack would therefore be unnecessary, and a source says Axios that Netanyahu replied that he had understood the message.

Clear message

On Sunday, the spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, John Kirby, said even more clearly that the United States does not want the crisis to be escalated after the attack, even though the United States is at odds with Israel and will continue to defend the country.

– We do not want this to escalate. We have no desire for a wider war with Iran, Kirby told ABC.

A senior official in the Biden administration says that Israel has promised that it does not seek a significant escalation of the conflict with Iran.

Biden and his advisers are very concerned that an Israeli response to the Iranian attack will lead to a regional war with catastrophic consequences, into which the United States would be drawn.

The War Cabinet met

Netanyahu called the war cabinet to a meeting on Sunday to discuss the situation after the attack, and after the conversation with Biden.

An Israeli official said after the meeting that the cabinet agrees to respond to Iran’s attack, but that the five members are divided on the timing and scope of such a response.

Benny Gantz, one of the cabinet members, said before the meeting that Israel will demand a price from Iran in response to its drone and missile attacks when the time is right.

– We will build a regional coalition and demand the price from Iran in the way and at the time that is right for us, Gantz said.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also referred to the possibility of establishing a strategic alliance against Iran.

The IDF says it has approved plans for both offensive and defensive actions for a possible response, but the military also emphasizes the “coalition” that beat back Iran.

– Today we stopped Iran’s attack. This was the first time that such a coalition cooperated against the threat from Iran and its proxies in the Middle East, says IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari.

Communicates via Turkey

Iran’s attack was the country’s first ever direct attack on Israel and was a clear escalation of the long-standing conflict between the two countries.

But Iran was careful to inform the US in advance that the attack was only to be a response to the Israeli attack on the embassy, ​​and that it had no plans to go further. Seven members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were killed in the embassy bombing, in addition to several civilians.

Since the US and Iran do not have diplomatic relations, communication between them has taken place via Turkey. The US made it clear to Iran, also via Turkey, that its response to the embassy attack had to be limited.

Iran also informed neighboring countries 72 hours before the attack, but the US says it did not receive this warning.

The attack with over 300 rockets and drones, most from Iran, but some also from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, did little damage in Israel. Most were shot down with help from the United States, Great Britain, France and Jordan.

A military base in southern Israel was hit but continued to operate as normal, and a seven-year-old girl was seriously injured by rocket debris. But there have been no other reports of serious damage.

Israel presses

Both the EU, Russia, China, France and Germany urged the parties to exercise restraint, and Turkey made it clear that it does not want increased tension in the region.

So did Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the Emirates. The Gulf states fear that they could be dragged in if the crisis escalates, and that their plans to remake and modernize the region would be destroyed.

The Gulf states, which are allies of the United States, have in recent years strengthened relations with both Iran and Israel with the aim of stabilizing the region.

The leaders of the G7 countries met via video, after which they condemned Iran’s attack, called for restraint and reaffirmed their full support for Israel.

– We express our full solidarity and support for Israel and its people and reaffirm our commitment to its security, the G7 leaders said after the meeting which Biden convened.

They emphasize that Iran “with its actions has taken further steps towards destabilizing the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation”, a development that must be avoided.

The UN Security Council was also due to meet on Sunday to discuss the situation.