The Biden administration said that there is a clear distinction between Israel’s recent military actions against Hamas and Hezbollah, and Iran’s retaliatory missile attack on Israel condemning Iran’s attack as an escalation.
Authorities across the administration have defended Israel’s intensified attacks on Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon, while continuing to call for peace and vowing retribution after Iran launched around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday.
‘US fully, fully supportive of Israel’
President Joe Biden praised the US and Israeli militaries for their successful defense against the missile barrage. He also made the administration’s stance clear, and warned, “Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully supportive of Israel.”
Addressing the White House, Biden said, “At my direction, the United States military actively supported the defence of Israel. We are still assessing the impact but, based on what we know, the attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective and this is a testament to Israeli military capability… (It is) also a testament to intensive planning (between) the United States and Israel to anticipate and defend against a brazen attack.”
“Make no mistake, the United States is fully supportive of Israel. And I just spent the morning and part of the afternoon in the situation room, meeting with my whole national security team… The national security team, as I said, is in constant contact with Israeli officials and counterparts…,” he added.
The United States military, under the direction of President Biden, has been instructed to assist Israel in defending against attacks from Iran and intercepting missiles aimed at the nation, the White House said.
Major General Patrick S Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, stated that although the majority of the missiles were intercepted before reaching their intended targets, a few did strike and cause minor damage.
‘Entire world should condemn it’
“This is totally unacceptable and the entire world should condemn it,” declared Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
He continued, “Initial reports suggest that Israel, with the active support of the United States and other partners, effectively defeated this attack. We have demonstrated, once again, our commitment to Israel’s defence. We will remain in very close touch with Israel and other partners in the region in the hours and days ahead.”
‘Significant escalation by Iran’
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, said that the United States military worked in close collaboration with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to assist in protecting Israel from the attack adding that “Obviously, this is a significant escalation by Iran,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
“Based on what we know at this point, this attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective. This was first and foremost the result of the professionalism of the IDF but in no small part because of the skilled work of the US military and meticulous joint planning in anticipation of the attack,” he said.
“We are also aware of reports of a terrorist attack in Jaffa that took the lives of a number of Israeli civilians and wounded several others today. Our condolences go out to the families of the victims and to the family of the Palestinian civilian in Jericho…,” he added.
‘We have a non-existent president’
Former president Donald Trump, on the other hand pointed fingers at the current administration led by President Joe Biden, holding them responsible for the recent attack.
In a statement Trump said: “The world is on fire and spiralling out of control. We have no leadership, no one running the country. We have a non-existent president in Joe Biden, and a completely absent Vice-President Kamala Harris, who is too busy fundraising in San Francisco… No one is in charge and it is not even clear who is more confused: Biden or Kamala. Neither has any idea what is even going on.”
US administration shifts its message
The US administration has changed its stance regarding the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, just a week after making an urgent plea for an immediate cessation of hostilities to prevent the outbreak of a full-scale war in the Middle East.
This shift comes as Israel continues its ground operations in Lebanon, following a significant airstrike in Beirut on Friday that resulted in the deaths of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan.
According to the Associated Press, the administration’s initial call for a cease-fire was aimed at avoiding the possibility of all-out war in the Middle East. However, as Israel persists with its military actions, the US has adjusted its position, seemingly in response to the targeted killing of the Hezbollah and Iranian leaders.