US President Joe Biden says he would not support any Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear sites in response to its missile attack, and has urged Israel to act “proportionally”.
Biden spoke a day after Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in a move that he previously described as “ineffective”, as the Middle East edges nearer to a regionwide war.
Iran called that barrage a retaliation for a series of blows from Israel in Lebanon, before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Iran would pay for the retaliatory attack.
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“We’ll be discussing with the Israelis what they’re going to do, but all seven of us (G7 countries) agree that they have a right to respond, but they should respond proportionally,” Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One.
Some analysts said Israel’s response would likely be sharper than when Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel in April, suggesting this time it could target Iranian nuclear or oil facilities.
Asked whether the US would back any Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, Biden said: “The answer is no.”
Biden said more sanctions would be imposed on Iran and he would speak soon with Netanyahu.
“Obviously, Iran is way off course,” he said.
US Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell said the administration was seeking to align its position with Israel on any response to Iran’s attack but also recognises the Middle East is on a “knife’s edge” and a broader escalation could imperil both Israeli and US interests.
Speaking at a virtual event hosted by think tank Carnegie Endowment, Campbell repeated the US view that what Iran has undertaken was “deeply irresponsible” and there must be a “return message”.
“I think we tried to underscore our support for some of the actions that Israel has taken,” he added.
“We have real wariness about an extended or substantial ground set of operations in Lebanon.”
The Israeli army is locked in combat at its northern border with Lebanon’s Iran-aligned Hezbollah fighters.
On Wednesday, eight Israeli soldiers were killed — the deadliest suffered by Israel’s military on the Lebanon front in the past year of border-area clashes between Israel and Hezbollah.
In the Beirut strikes which Iran responded to with the mass-missile attack, at least six people were killed and 91 were wounded, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
Iran said on Wednesday its missile volley — its biggest ever assault on Israel — was over, barring further provocation.
— With AP