The Pentagon announced that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has canceled his visit to the Pentagon this week. Sources say this decision was made because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted the Cabinet to first meet to reach a consensus on how to respond to Iran’s plans, and to have a call with President Biden.
On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh mentioned during a routine press briefing, “We just learned that Minister Gallant will postpone his trip to Washington.”
When asked by reporters, she did not disclose the reason for the cancellation of the visit and advised the media to directly inquire with the Israeli Ministry of Defense. However, Netanyahu’s and Gallant’s offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment from foreign media.
The visit to the U.S. was originally arranged at Israel’s request. It was widely seen as an important opportunity for high-level defense officials from both sides to discuss how to respond to Iran’s recent attacks and the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
According to reports from Israeli news websites such as Ynet, The Jerusalem Post, and the Financial Times, just hours before departure, Gallant received an order from Prime Minister Netanyahu to postpone the visit.
Sources indicate that Netanyahu wanted the Cabinet to vote on Israel’s response to the Iranian attacks before Gallant visited Washington, and Netanyahu had called President Biden before Gallant’s trip.
Both the White House and the Pentagon have confirmed that the call between Netanyahu and Biden has been planned for days but has not yet taken place.
President Biden stated on Friday that he believes Israel has not yet decided how to respond to Iran, adding that if he were in Israel’s position, he would consider hitting Iranian oil fields.
On Tuesday, Iran warned Israel not to retaliate. Iran’s Foreign Minister stated that any attack on Iran’s infrastructure would face retaliation, and a senior Iranian official told Middle Eastern countries that allowing their airspace to be used against Iran would be “unacceptable” and would be met with a response.
Western countries are seeking diplomatic solutions, hoping to prevent the conflict from escalating and affecting oil production in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, as Gallant canceled his visit, Israel continues to target objectives within Lebanon and has expanded its ground offensive in the southern part of the country, weakening the Iran-backed proxy group Hezbollah.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu released a video urging the people of Lebanon to rise up against Hezbollah, calling on them to “save” their country from falling into “destruction and misery” like Gaza.