Those concerns stem in part from the administration’s views of the approach Israel has taken to its war against Hamas, as well as the attack in Syria’s Damascus.
President Joe Biden has privately expressed concern that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to drag the US more deeply into a broader conflict, according to three people familiar with his comments.
The White House believes Israelis are not looking for a wider war or a direct war with Iran, but US officials can’t be certain, the senior administration official said.
US officials have privately expressed frustration with Israel’s decision to strike the Iranian consular building in Syria.
“I don’t think they had a strategy,” the senior administration official stated, adding, “The Israelis don’t always make the best strategic decisions.”
Senior leaders at the Pentagon also have privately expressed frustration at the timing of the Damascus strike, according to the senior defense official, because it had the potential to be “catastrophically escalatory”.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched “extensive” retaliatory missile and drone strikes against the occupied territories in response to the Israeli regime’s terrorist attack against Tehran’s diplomatic premises in the Syrian capital Damascus.
The Israeli raid had resulted in the martyrdom of Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, his deputy, General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, and five of their accompanying officers. The terrorist attack drew sharp condemnation from senior Iranian political and military leaders, who vowed “definitive revenge”.
On Sunday, the White House announced in a statement Biden will meet with G7 leaders Sunday “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack”.
“My team will engage with their counterparts across the region. And we will stay in close touch with Israel’s leaders,” the statement from Biden reads.
“And while we have not seen attacks on our forces or facilities today, we will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people.”
US defensive assets moved to the region earlier this week and “helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles”, the statement claimed.
Biden also spoke to Netanyahu following Saturday’s attack “to reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel”.
“I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel,” the president stated.
