WASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nTop officials in Washington are attempting to avoid a widening war in the Middle East after Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel with explosive drones and missiles. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere need to be some consequences here,\u201d said a senior U.S. official briefing reporters Sunday afternoon on the condition of not being named. <\/p>\n
But U.S. President Joe Biden, in his latest conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, \u201cmade very clear to the prime minister last night that we do have to think carefully and strategically about risks of escalation,\u201d especially in view of the attack causing only light damage and no significant casualties, the official said.<\/p>\n
Israeli officials insist there will be a response, but the country\u2019s war Cabinet appears divided on how and when. <\/p>\n
If Israel retaliates, it would be doing it alone. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe would not envision ourselves participating in such a thing,\u201d replied the senior administration official when asked whether the United States would participate in any military response to the Iranian attack. <\/p>\n
It was an \u201cincredible military achievement\u201d by Israel, the United States and other partners in repelling \u201cmore than 300 drones and missiles\u201d launched by Iran, according to White House national security spokesperson John Kirby.<\/p>\n
US Central Command says its forces, supported by US European Command destroyers, on Saturday and on Sunday morning “successfully engaged and destroyed more than 80 one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) and at least six ballistic missiles intended to strike Israel from Iran and Yemen. This includes a ballistic missile on its launcher vehicle and seven UAVs destroyed on the ground in Iranian-backed Houthi controlled areas of Yemen prior to their launch.”<\/p>\n
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a statement late Saturday, said the explosive aircraft and missiles were launched from the territories of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call on Iran to immediately halt any further attacks, including from its proxy forces, and to deescalate tensions,\u201d Austin said. \u201cWe do not seek conflict with Iran, but we will not hesitate to act to protect our forces and support the defense of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
He spoke by phone Sunday for the third time during the weekend with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.<\/p>\n
Biden convened a hastily arranged video conference Sunday of leaders of the Group of Seven nations to coordinate a united diplomatic response to the Iranian attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation. This must be avoided,\u201d the G7 leaders said in a group statement issued after their meeting. \u201cWe will continue to work to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation. In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks, and we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden spoke by phone with Netanyahu on Saturday evening to \u201creaffirm America\u2019s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden told Netanyahu, according to media reports, that since the Iranian attack caused only minimal casualties and damage, Israel should not retaliate against Iran.<\/p>\n
Both Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have been calling leaders in the region to make it clear that while Washington does not seek a direct military confrontation with Tehran, the United States will not hesitate to continue to defend Israel.<\/p>\n
Biden had rushed back to Washington from a visit to Delaware earlier Saturday and convened a meeting in the White House Situation Room with key officials of his Cabinet as Iran launched the unprecedented attack after vowing to retaliate over an April 1 suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran\u2019s consulate in Damascus.<\/p>\n
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the strike.<\/p>\n
The U.S. military began moving extra troops and equipment to sites in the Middle East, defense officials confirmed Friday. It has about 40,000 troops in the region.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Navy moved two guided-missile destroyers capable of intercepting drones and incoming missiles closer to Israel in anticipation of the Iranian attack, The Wall Street Journal<\/em> reported.<\/p>\nU.S. Navy Red Sea forces have previously intercepted long-range missiles launched toward Israel from Yemen by the Iranian-allied Houthi forces.<\/p>\n
The Biden administration’s response to the Iranian attack will be closely watched by his political opponents, coming less than seven months before a general election rematch between the Democratic Party incumbent and his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Trump, speaking Saturday at a rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, claimed the attack \u201cwould not have happened if we were in office.” He did not elaborate on how.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod bless the people of Israel,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are under attack right now. That’s because we show great weakness.\u201d <\/p>\n
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has failed to permit a floor vote on bipartisan legislation passed by the Senate providing security aid to Israel and Ukraine, is accusing Biden\u2019s administration of undermining Israel and appeasing Iran and that \u201ccontributed to these terrible developments.\u201d <\/p>\n
A Republican congressman, Mike Turner of the state of Ohio, is calling for a more robust response from Biden. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the administration needs to take seriously that this attack has happened. It’s unprecedented and certainly it needs to be viewed as an escalation. This is an escalating conflict,\u201d Turner, who chairs the intelligence committee in the House, said on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d program Sunday.<\/p>\n
Democrat Chris Coons, of Biden\u2019s home state of Delaware, is urging lawmakers to pass Biden\u2019s request for military aid to Israel.<\/p>\n
“The House should promptly pass this coming week the long-delayed national security supplemental to ensure that our Israeli allies have everything they need to defend themselves from attacks by Iran and its proxies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0 Top officials in Washington are attempting to avoid a widening war in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
US suggests Israel need not retaliate against Iran - International Pulse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US suggests Israel need not retaliate against Iran - International Pulse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0 Top officials in Washington are attempting to avoid a widening war in the...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"International Pulse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-15T01:11:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gdb.voanews.com\/3532b32f-1f7e-4584-88fe-b7a926f58ba3_w800_h450.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231\",\"name\":\"US suggests Israel need not retaliate against Iran - International Pulse\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-15T01:11:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-15T01:11:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"US suggests Israel need not retaliate against Iran\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/\",\"name\":\"International Pulse\",\"description\":\"There's a different sound here\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/demo6.aiwalls.com\/automatic-news\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"US suggests Israel need not retaliate against Iran - International Pulse","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"US suggests Israel need not retaliate against Iran - International Pulse","og_description":"WASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0 Top officials in Washington are attempting to avoid a widening war in the...","og_url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231","og_site_name":"International Pulse","article_published_time":"2024-04-15T01:11:35+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/gdb.voanews.com\/3532b32f-1f7e-4584-88fe-b7a926f58ba3_w800_h450.jpg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231","url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231","name":"US suggests Israel need not retaliate against Iran - International Pulse","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-04-15T01:11:35+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-15T01:11:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3231#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"US suggests Israel need not retaliate against Iran"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/","name":"International Pulse","description":"There's a different sound here","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/demo6.aiwalls.com\/automatic-news"],"url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1"}]}},"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/16A0DFBD-427E-4F48-B1DD-EF1A44B8223F.jpg",1200,628,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/16A0DFBD-427E-4F48-B1DD-EF1A44B8223F-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/16A0DFBD-427E-4F48-B1DD-EF1A44B8223F-300x157.jpg",300,157,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/16A0DFBD-427E-4F48-B1DD-EF1A44B8223F-768x402.jpg",640,335,true],"large":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/16A0DFBD-427E-4F48-B1DD-EF1A44B8223F-1024x536.jpg",640,335,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/16A0DFBD-427E-4F48-B1DD-EF1A44B8223F.jpg",1200,628,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/16A0DFBD-427E-4F48-B1DD-EF1A44B8223F.jpg",1200,628,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/16A0DFBD-427E-4F48-B1DD-EF1A44B8223F-1115x628.jpg",1115,628,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/16A0DFBD-427E-4F48-B1DD-EF1A44B8223F-800x500.jpg",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/16A0DFBD-427E-4F48-B1DD-EF1A44B8223F-1024x536.jpg",1024,536,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/16A0DFBD-427E-4F48-B1DD-EF1A44B8223F-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/16A0DFBD-427E-4F48-B1DD-EF1A44B8223F-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?cat=9\" rel=\"category\">News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/gdb.voanews.com\/3532b32f-1f7e-4584-88fe-b7a926f58ba3_w800_h450.jpg\")
<\/p>\n