On Wednesday, President Joe Biden of the United States stated that he does not support Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
When asked whether Israel would launch retaliatory strikes against facilities related to Iran’s nuclear program, Biden said, “The answer is no.”
He mentioned that the United States will discuss with Israel how to respond to Iran’s missile attacks. On Tuesday, Iran launched around 200 missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israel’s previous killing of a Hezbollah leader.
Hezbollah is Iran’s proxy in Lebanon. Since the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, Hezbollah has been firing missiles, mortars, and rockets almost daily at Israel’s northern border to express support for Hamas, prompting Israel to respond with firepower.
Biden said he spoke with leaders of the G7 earlier on Wednesday, and all G7 member countries agreed that Israel should “make an appropriate response.”
“Iran’s actions have seriously deviated from the right track,” Biden said.
According to a White House statement, leaders of the G7 are considering imposing new sanctions on Iran.
Western countries, including the United States, are most concerned that Israel may attack Iran’s territory and even its nuclear facilities. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged Israel to retaliate by destroying Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran has made it clear that any Israeli response will further escalate the situation. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Tuesday’s action was “just part of our power.”
Biden mentioned that he may speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “soon.”
According to the White House’s report, Biden and Netanyahu last spoke on August 21.
Biden revealed that the U.S. is directly providing recommendations to Israeli officials, informing them of possible responses to the attack.
“We will discuss with the Israelis what they are going to do,” Biden said. “We have been in talks with Netanyahu’s people all along.”
The United States has long sought to ensure Israel’s strategic advantage in the Middle East, which is part of the U.S.’ commitment to the security of the Jewish state.
Netanyahu vowed that Iran would pay a price for Tuesday’s attacks.
Some analysts estimate that Israel’s response could be more severe than in the past, fearing that Israel might target Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities.
The U.S. news website Axios reported on Wednesday, citing Israeli officials, that Israel will carry out “major retaliation” against Iran’s attacks in the coming days, possibly targeting Iran’s oil production facilities and other strategic locations.
Bloomberg stated that if Iranian leaders choose to enrich uranium to the 90% level typically used for such weapons, Iran has accumulated enough enriched uranium to produce several nuclear bombs. However, it still needs to master the weapon-making process to produce operable devices capable of hitting distant targets.