Joe Biden interrupted his weekend break yesterday to meet urgently in the Oval Office with his National Security team following Iran’s large-scale attack on Israel. The coordinated action of his government and that of the United Kingdom with Tel Aviv has managed to shoot down “almost all of the drones and missiles” directed against the Jewish state, the White House said in a statement, in which it reported that Biden and Beniamin Netanyahu have called each other for half an hour during the night.
The president has conveyed to the Israeli Prime Minister his “firm commitment to the defense of Israel” in the face of attacks that he perceives as an escalation and that he condemns “in the strongest possible terms.” Although his administration “has not identified attacks” on its troops and military facilities in the Middle East, he warns that “we will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary measures to protect our people.”
In the same statement, Biden announced that he will seek a joint response with the G7 leaders: “Tomorrow I will convene my fellow G7 leaders to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack. My team will contact their counterparts in throughout the region and we will remain in close contact with Israel’s leaders.
In New York, the United Nations Security Council has called an emergency meeting for this afternoon regarding the attack. The meeting, confirmed by Malta’s mission to the UN, had been requested by the Israeli ambassador, Gilad Erdan, in a letter in which he described the attack as “a severe and dangerous escalation.”
Yesterday afternoon, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, and promised him that “Israel can count on the full support of the United States to defend itself against any attack from Iran and its regional allies.” “.
The commitment to Israel remains firm despite the fact that the relationship is not going through its best moment. Washington has publicly shown its discomfort over the attack on an Iranian consulate in Damascus (Syria), which killed three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and has provoked Tehran’s response.
The assessment made by the White House is that the damage has been very limited due to the scale of the attack. “Following my instructions, to support Israel’s defense, the US military deployed ballistic missile defense aircraft and destroyers to the region over the past week,” Biden confirmed: “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary expertise of our military, we have helped Israel shoot down almost all of the incoming drones and missiles.
The White House seeks a complex balance in the Middle East. On the one hand, it is clear that it will not leave its main ally in the region, key to its geopolitical ambitions and with great support among Americans, stranded; On the other hand, it wants to avoid being dragged into a large-scale regional war, which would benefit no one.
Ayatollah Ali Khameini’s regime has warned the US that there will be retaliation if it continues to provide military aid to Tel Aviv, which has once again proven crucial for its defense. Israel receives $3.8 billion in assistance annually from Washington, to which has been added in recent weeks the sending of thousands of bombs and fighter jets based on a 2008 congressional authorization.
