WASHINGTON – In a dramatic phone call dripping with tension, President Joe Biden bluntly gave Benjamin Netanyahu a red light against any vengeful Israeli military counterattack on Iran, high-level U.S. officials dished. The warning shot across Israel’s bow came after Iranian forces unleashed an unprecedented missile and drone bombing blitz aimed at the Jewish state.
Over 200 missiles and unmanned bombers were frantically fired from Iranian territory as well as Yemen, Syria and Iraq in a blistering reprisal for Israel whacking a top Iranian Revolutionary Guard big shot in Syria days prior, officials spilled. But thanks to its souped-up missile shield, Israel managed to swat down most of the incoming Tehran toys before they could pound cities and villages.
Saluting Israel’s “remarkable capacity” to fend off the bombastic barrage, Biden still drew a hard line with Netanyahu against any escalating tit-for-tat on Iranian turf itself, U.S. honchos revealed. With the region already a bloody powder keg, Biden and advisors fear an Israeli retaliation could spark a wider war of catastrophic proportions.
“You got a win. Take the win,” Biden reportedly barked at Bibi, an insider leaked. Biden made cristal clear the U.S. fully backs Israel’s right to self-defense but would give zero support to any new offensive ops targeting Iran’s homeland.
For his part, Netanyahu seemed to catch Biden’s drift, the official dished, though he stopped short of explicitly ruling out further military moves. A separate Israeli source confirmed U.S. Defense Chief Lloyd Austin had pressed Israel to give a heads-up before any payback strikes.
The arm-wrestling between the allies underscores their widening rift over how to handle Iran’s nuclear shenanigans and regional meddling. While standing united against Iranian attacks on Israel, they’re worlds apart on using pre-emptive military force against Tehran’s atomambitions.
Biden’s banked on reviving nuke diplomacy with Iran and restoring the scrapped 2015 deal that capped its atomic program, which President Donald Trump torched in 2018. But Israel’s run out of patience waiting for diplomacy and Netanyahu’s new hardline government has threatened unilateral military strikes if nuke talks keep stalling.
Biden vowed he’ll rally G7 leaders on Sunday to “coordinate a united diplomatic response” to Iran’s latest provocations. His admin will also huddle with Israel and other Mideast allies on next steps, he pledged.
“While we haven’t seen attacks on our forces today, we’ll stay vigilant to all threats and won’t hesitate to protect our people,” Biden warned ominously.
U.S. forces had pre-positioned fighter jets and missile defense vessels in the region last week to beef up Israeli defenses against Iran’s provocation, officials revealed. A U.S. defense honcho confirmed American troops took out some Iranian drones headed for Israel.
The rocket massacre marked an alarming escalation even for the constantly simmering Mideast. Never before had Iran dared launch so many missiles from its soil at Israeli cities and burbs. The sheer volume severely stress-tested Israel’s missile shields and raised fears of a system overload.
Yet Iran’s broadside apparently missed its mark, with key long-range Khorramshahr ballistic missiles seeming to fall short of Israeli land. So far, damage reports indicate no Israeli military or civilian casualties.
Still, the weekend’s frantic events stoked a new firestorm threatening to explode into regionwide conflict. And it exposed Biden’s precarious diplomacy as he tries walking a tightrope between reassuring Israeli security and keeping diplomacy alive with the mullahs in Tehran.
