Israel is not seeking a “significant escalation” with Iran despite concerns of counterattacks, the White House said.
After officials in Tehran claimed they had warned Washington, DC that it would carry out attacks against Israel, a senior administration official said that was not the case.
“I wouldn’t characterize it as Iran giving us time to prepare,” the official said during a call with reporters on Sunday. ‘Her intention was clearly to be very, very destructive. And that’s in their public rhetoric and I think it’s confirmed by what they tried to do last night.
They said Iran needed time to prepare for the attack and that the United States “used the time wisely to prepare” for defense.
Iran’s foreign minister said: Tehran informed the US of its imminent attack and gave 72 hours notice to neighboring Middle Eastern countries.
Israel has told Washington it is not seeking a “significant escalation” of the conflict with Iran amid concerns of a counterattack. Pictured: President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 8, 2023.
Iran and its allies launched around 300 missiles and drones towards Israel since Saturday, but the vast majority were intercepted and shot down before reaching Israeli airspace.
“We announce… to the White House in a message that our operations will be limited, minimal and aimed at punishing the Israeli regime,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Sunday.
It came after more than 300 missiles, drones and other attacks were launched against Israel, but most were intercepted and shot down before reaching the nation’s airspace.
Before the attack, Iran warned the United States not to get involved in the conflict and said it would attack American troops. Reported details of a call between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reveal that the American leader said he would not engage in counterattacks.
Amid concerns of retaliation, the U.S. official on Sunday’s press call said Jerusalem also signaled it is not seeking further conflict with Tehran.
“Israel has made it clear to us that it is not seeking a significant escalation with Iran,” they said. “That’s not what they’re looking for.”
“They are looking to protect and defend themselves.”
Biden spoke to G7 leaders after returning to the White House on Saturday a day before his weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to address the escalating conflict.
A senior defense official said on Sunday that the discussions involved a possible review of sanctions that had previously been proposed with Iran but hit roadblocks before being implemented.
While Biden and his national security team insist that US support for Israel’s defense is “unwavering,” the administration has repeatedly distanced itself from ideas that it will engage in taking action directly against Iran.
President Joe Biden returned early from his weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to meet with his Homeland Security team in the White House Situation Room on Saturday.
NSC spokesman John Kirby said Sunday that the United States warned Iran against “what we would do” if American troops were attacked in the Middle East amid the escalating conflict in the region.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States has told Iran “what we would do” if American troops or facilities were attacked.
Amid Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, some Republican lawmakers are dissatisfied with the Biden administration’s response so far to the escalating conflict and want a direct response to last night’s attacks by Iran and its representatives.
‘The president has made it clear: we are not seeking a war with Iran. “We are not seeking a broader war in the region,” Kirby told NBC anchor Kristen Welker on Sunday morning.
When asked by the Meet the Press host whether Biden had ruled out a direct attack on Iran, Kirby reiterated: “We are not looking for a war with Iran.”
