U.S. officials expect a possible Israeli response to Iran’s weekend attack to be limited in scope and likely to involve strikes against Iranian military forces and Iranian-backed proxies outside of Iran, four U.S. officials told NBC News.
The US assessment is based on conversations between US and Israeli officials that took place before Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday night.
As Israel prepared for a possible Iranian attack last week, Israeli officials briefed U.S. officials on possible response options, U.S. officials said.
US officials stressed that they have not been informed of Israel’s final decision on how it will respond and that options could have changed since the weekend attack. They also said it was unclear when an Israeli response would occur, but that it could happen at any time.
President Joe Biden and other leaders called for restraint after Israel pledged it would respond to Iran’s attack on Saturday, which was in retaliation for the April 1 Israeli attack on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed two of Tehran’s top generals.
Scenarios reported last week about possible retaliatory action to the consular attack ranged from a modest attack by Iran to a widespread attack that resulted in Israeli casualties and the destruction of Israeli facilities, the officials said.
Potential Israeli responses ranged from no military action to attacks inside Iran.
Given that the Iranian attack did not result in Israeli deaths or widespread destruction, U.S. officials said, Israel could respond with one of its less aggressive options — strikes outside Iran.
Options could include strikes inside Syria, three U.S. officials said. Officials do not expect the response to target senior Iranian officials, but rather to target shipments or storage facilities with advanced missile parts, weapons or components being sent from Iran to Hezbollah.
The US does not intend to participate in the military response, the officials added. They expect Israel to share information about actions with Washington in advance, specifically if it could have negative repercussions for Americans in the region.
An Israeli official said Monday after a meeting of Israel’s War Cabinet that Israel’s response to the Iranian attack could be “imminent,” noting that decision-makers believe it is important that any response occur close to the attack. . The Israeli official said several diplomatic and military options were examined during the meeting.
The US and other allies assisted Israel during the attacks, helping it intercept the vast majority of drones and missiles fired at the country. But in a phone call on Saturday, President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US would not participate in offensive operations against Iran, a senior administration official said.
A chorus of diplomats condemned the weekend’s strikes while warning against further escalation in the region.
“I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any action that could lead to major military clashes on multiple fronts in the Middle East,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday at a Security Council meeting. .
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s representative at the UN, told the meeting that Israel “reserves the legal right to retaliate” and that the world “cannot be content with inaction”.
Iran said in a statement from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the attacks were carried out “in the exercise of its inherent right to self-defense”. The statement said Iran “would not hesitate to take other necessary defensive measures” to protect its legitimate interests against any act of military aggression or unlawful use of force.”
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