REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware (AP) – President Joe Biden is cutting short a weekend stay at his Delaware beach house and returning to the White House on Saturday to meet with his national security team and monitor the situation in the Middle East in front of a feared an Iranian attack on Israel.
Tensions are at their highest point since the Israel-Hamas War started six months ago, after a suspected Israeli attack this month, in an Iranian consular building in Syria, he killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals from the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force. Iran promised to retaliate against Israel, and U.S. and Israeli officials have been preparing for an attack as early as this weekend, raising concerns about the escalation of the conflict into a broader regional war.
The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart “to discuss urgent regional threats… and made clear that Israel could count on the full support of the United States to defend Israel against any attacks by Iran and its regional representatives”. Councilor Jake Sullivan also spoke to his counterpart to reinforce Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”
Biden said on Friday that the United States was “dedicated” to defending Israel and that “Iran will not succeed.” Asked by reporters what his message was to Iran, the president’s only response was: “Don’t do that.”
He ignored a question about what would trigger a direct U.S. military response, and when asked how imminent an Iranian attack on Israel was, Biden said he didn’t want to get firm information, “but my expectation is sooner rather than later.” .
The US, together with its allies, sent direct messages to Tehran to warn against further escalation of the conflict.
During the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, there have been almost daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group along the Israel-Lebanon border. US authorities have recorded more than 150 attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria against US forces at bases in those countries since the war began on October 7.
An attack in late January killed three US service members in Jordan. In retaliation, the US launched a massive airstrike, hitting more than 85 targets in seven locations in Iraq and Syria.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, commandos of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard rappelled from a helicopter onto an Israeli-affiliated container ship near the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel.
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said the US strongly condemned the seizure and urged Iran to release the ship and crew immediately.
“We will work with our partners to hold Iran accountable for its actions,” she said.
Also on Saturday, the Israeli-occupied West Bank also saw some of the worst violence since Hamas’ attack on Israel.
___
Miller reported from Washington.
