Biden expresses opposition to Israel launching strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, yet acknowledges that Israel holds the authority to retaliate following an attack.
American authorities aren't secretly pushing Israel to hold back on reacting against Iran, as reported by two high-ranking administration officials to CNN. This is a shift from April when Biden advised Israel to "take the win" after a successful interception of a barrage of Iranian drones and missiles.
Instead, Biden hopes for Israel to adopt a cautious approach that safeguards its right to retaliate, while avoiding actions that could provoke further retaliation and potentially spark a full-scale war.
One senior official stated, "Nobody's telling them not to respond. Nobody's saying 'Take the win.'"
The reception of this message by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains uncertain, especially given his strengthened political position following successful attempts to weaken Hezbollah in Lebanon.
At the start of a security cabinet meeting, Netanyahu declared, "Iran made a big mistake, and it will pay for it."
Biden's attempts to influence his Israeli counterpart over the past year have proved largely unsuccessful, and the two leaders have not spoken since August. However, Biden announced he plans to speak with Netanyahu "relatively soon," but no scheduled conversation was mentioned.
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell confirmed ongoing discussions with Israel and highlighted the gravity of the situation.
"The region is teetering on a razor's edge, and there are genuine concerns about a broader escalation that could jeopardize not just Israel, but our strategic interests as well," Campbell said.
The stakes are at an all-time high due to rising tensions in the region. Efforts to broker truces in both Gaza and along the Israel-Lebanon border have been largely fruitless. The looming American presidential election heightens the significance of managing the crisis.
The scale of Tuesday's attack surpassed the volume of projectiles Iran fired at Israel in April. Israel and the US were once again successful in intercepting the missiles, thanks to several months of coordinated planning. However, the magnitude of the attack, which Biden labeled "audacious" after it occurred, warranted a response from Israel, according to American officials.
"Israel has the right to respond. The response should be proportional," Biden remarked following a virtual call with leaders from the Group of 7 industrialized nations. He stated that the leaders agreed on this point, and they were preparing to impose new sanctions on Iran.
This is a departure from the stance taken in mid-April, when American officials encouraged Israel to acknowledge the minimal damage inflicted by Iran and urged them to move on. Israel did respond, but in a limited capacity, striking an air defense system in Isfahan.
Now, anticipation is high for a more significant Israeli counterattack, which may target a range of objectives. According to the current assessment, it's unlikely that Israel will target Iran's nuclear sites, though one senior official noted that Israel has yet to decide on where it might strike.
"They are doing the wise thing and taking a break to think about it," the official said.
Biden has stated that he does not support an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. "The answer is no," he responded when questioned about the prospect of Israel launching a retaliatory strike on facilities related to Iran's nuclear program.
Such an action by Israel would almost certainly lead to an out-of-control conflict that Biden has been striving to prevent for a year since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7. For Netanyahu and some of his most hawkish advisers, though, it could eliminate what is perceived as an existential threat to Israel once and for all.
Following this week's attacks, the US is closely monitoring all activity surrounding Iran's nuclear program, but has not observed any recent changes, as reported by two American officials.
A primary American concern is the possibility of Iran strengthening its nuclear program after successfully degrading its proxies in Lebanon and Gaza and thwarting its ballistic missile attack.
Although there are no signs currently of Iran doing this, US officials are still vigilant for such a possibility.
There has not been a major shift in Iran's nuclear stance lately, but over the past year, Iran has continued to enrich fissile material for its nuclear program. In early 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Iran's breakout time - the amount of time required to produce sufficient nuclear material for a nuclear weapon - "is now probably one or two weeks."
No Israeli casualties or fatalities occurred during Tuesday's Iranian attack, which appeared to target military and intelligence facilities. One Palestinian man was killed in the West Bank by falling debris from an interceptor missile launched by Israel, according to the hospital where he was treated.
With the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, starting on Wednesday, there is some belief that an Israeli retaliation could still be delayed by a few days.
"They have the holiday, which provides some time and space," one of the senior US officials said.
However, prolonging the wait for a response also sparks anticipation in a region that is already tense, particularly as Israel's operation against Hezbollah continues. CNN reported on Wednesday that US officials and Israeli believe that about 50% of the Iranian proxy group's arsenal has been destroyed.
On Tuesday afternoon, Harris stepped forward to deliver a calculated statement concerning the Iranian attacks in Israel.
"I've got my eyes wide open," she declared, sticking to her scripted discourse. "Iran poses a destabilizing and threatening presence in the Middle East, and the recent assault on Israel is just one more evidence of this reality."
Despite Biden's call for caution, the pressure on Israel to respond to Iran's attacks is growing, given the scale of the latest attack and the perceived threat to its security. The politics surrounding this situation are complex, as Biden has expressed opposition to an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, but Netanyahu and his advisers may see such an action as a potential solution to an existential threat.
