Biden says he opposes potential Israeli strike against Iran nuclear program
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President Biden told reporters on Wednesday he wouldn't support Israel striking Iran's nuclear facilities, though he stressed that the U.S. and its Western allies are discussing new sanctions against Iran in response to its ballistic missile attack against Israel.
Why it matters: Israel is preparing to respond to Iran's massive missile attack on Tuesday with attacks inside Iran in the coming days — part of a spiraling tit for tat after Israel assassinated top Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian officials.
- Israeli officials say their "significant retaliation" could target oil production facilities inside Iran and other strategic sites, Axios reported.
- The Biden administration supports an Israeli military response against Iran, but wants to make sure it doesn't turn the situation from "isolated salvoes to sustained hostilities that will imperil not only Israel's but our strategic interests as well," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said at a virtual event hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Wednesday.
The big picture: Iran launched nearly 200 missiles toward Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for a series of assassinations by Israel, beginning with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's killing in Tehran in July.
- Israel also killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Brigadier Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan last week in Beirut.
- Iran and Israel have both said they don't want all-out war. Iran said its retaliation is now complete, unless Israel attacks.
- Meanwhile, Israel is conducting an invasion of southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia. More than 1,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in two weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Driving the news: Biden held a conference call on Tuesday with the leaders of Italy, France, the U.K., Germany, Canada, Japan and the EU to discuss the Iranian attack against Israel and to coordinate on a response, including new sanctions against Iran, the White House said.
- "We will be discussing with the Israelis what they are going to do. All seven of us agree that they have a right to respond but they should respond in proportion ... we are giving them advice. I will talk to Bibi relatively soon," Biden told reporters on Wednesday, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Netanyahu held a meeting on Wednesday with several senior ministers and the heads of the security and intelligence services to discuss the timing and scope of the Israeli response to the Iranian attack, the Prime Minister's office said.
- "We know how to locate important targets and hit them in a powerful and precise way. We can conduct strikes in any place in the Middle East and if one of our enemies hasn't understood that until now, it will understand it soon," Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Wednesday.
Behind the scenes: Campbell said the Biden administration is consulting and coordinating with the Israeli government about its response to the Iranian attack.
- "We keep lines of communications open ... although there were moments of surprise in recent months," he said.
- Campbell said the U.S. is also considering its options regarding a response to the Iranian attack.
- "There must be a return message and there are deliberations ongoing... but as important as a response of some kind should be, there is also a recognition that the region is balancing on a knife's edge and there are real concerns about even broader escalation," he said.
What to watch: Campbell said countries in the region don't want a wider war. Therefore, he said, there is a need "to take great care with everything we do regarding Iran."
