\n<\/p>\n
Iran launched an unprecedented wave of more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel on Saturday evening in retaliation for a deadly airstrike conducted by Israel in Syria two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
After the attack, which was largely thwarted by Israel\u2019s Iron Dome and allied military support, US President Joe Biden<\/strong> spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong> and urged his Israeli counterpart to refrain from retaliatory attacks, multiple outlets reported Sunday morning<\/p>\n In a White House statement, Biden condemned<\/a> the strikes in \u201cthe strongest possible terms\u201d and said he reaffirmed to the Israeli Prime Minister his \u201cironclad commitment to the security of Israel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The president also praised Israel\u2019s \u201cremarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks,\u201d as the Iranian strikes were intercepted mainly by Israel\u2019s air defense systems, with the help of the US.\u00a0<\/p>\n White House spokesman John<\/strong> Kirby<\/strong> called<\/a> Israel\u2019s response an \u201cincredible military achievement\u201d on Sunday and said that Biden \u201cdoesn\u2019t believe\u201d the situation needs to escalate into a broader war.<\/p>\n The president\u2019s statement didn\u2019t say whether he encouraged Netanyahu to refrain from retaliation, but according to one senior White House official who spoke anonymously<\/a> to Axios, Biden\u2019s message to his Israeli counterpart was basically, \u201cYou got a win. Take the win.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n US officials familiar with the conversation told<\/a> CNN that Biden also told Bibi that the US would not take part in any offensive action against Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether and how the Israelis will respond, that\u2019s going to be up to them. We understand that and respect that,\u201d Kirby said Sunday. \u201cBut the president\u2019s been very clear: we don\u2019t seek a war with Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement posted<\/a> on X, formerly Twitter, the Iranian Mission to the United Nations wrote that the strikes were direct retaliation for Israel\u2019s April 1 attack on Iran\u2019s embassy in Damascus, Syria, which killed two generals, and claimed that the \u201cmatter can be deemed concluded.\u201d The Mission added that \u201cshould the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran\u2019s response will be considerably more severe,\u201d warning the US to \u201cSTAY AWAY.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear, however, whether Netanyahu will ultimately heed Biden\u2019s reported advice, as the two have been locked in increasingly public debates over Israel\u2019s military operations in Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed<\/a> in the last six months.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last week, Biden called<\/a> Netanyahu\u2019s approach to the war a \u201cmistake\u201d after IDF strikes killed seven aid workers. The US president also continues to oppose a planned invasion of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge. Netanyahu continues to forge ahead and claimed<\/a> last week that he\u2019d set a date for the invasion.<\/p>\n Yet Biden\u2019s call has at least had some effect: two Israeli officials, speaking anonymously<\/a> to The New York Times<\/em>, said that multiple members of Israel\u2019s war cabinet were pushing for a retaliatory attack on Saturday but that it was called off after the Biden-Bibi call. On Sunday, war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz<\/strong> seemed to put the breaks<\/a> on an immediate response, vowing to \u201cbuild a regional coalition and exact the price from Iran, in the way and at the time that suits us.\u201d<\/p>\n In his statement, Biden said he planned on convening a Sunday meeting with fellow members of the Group of Seven, a coalition of major industrialized democracies, to \u201ccoordinate a united diplomatic response\u201d to Iran\u2019s attack. My team will engage with their counterparts across the region,\u201d Biden added. \u201cAnd we will stay in close touch with Israel\u2019s leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n