Friday, April 12, 2024

Biden's message to Iran about retaliatory strike on Israel: 'Don't'

 Biden's message to Iran about retaliatory strike on Israel: 'Don't'

At the same time, he said he expects an Iranian attack "sooner than later."


US warns of rising threat against Israel from Iran

The State Department has sent new travel restrictions to Americans in Israel as threats of violence from Iran increase.

President Joe Biden told reporters Friday afternoon he expects an Iranian strike on Israel to occur "sooner than later" amid urgent concerns that Iran was about to retaliate for the bombing of its consulate in Damascus, Syria, earlier this month.

Asked for his message to Iran in the tense moment, Biden was blunt, saying simply, "Don't."

"Would the U.S. respond?" ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked repeatedly as the president walked away after the end of an unrelated event. He paused, thought for a moment and then returned to the lectern.

"We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed," he said.


Biden's comments come as other high-level U.S. officials worked urgently behind the scenes to pressure Iran to back down from its threat to launch a retaliatory strike -- the latest challenge facing the Biden administration as it tries to avert an all-out regional war in the Middle East.

At the same time, the U.S. was moving troops and other assets to the Middle East as Iran readied a large number of missiles and drones for a potential strike against Israel, according to U.S. officials.

The deployment of American troops was intended to try to deter Iran from launching a large-scale attack and protecting U.S. troops in the region

According to one U.S. defense official, the assets being moved to the region include both "ships and aircraft."

Two U.S. Navy destroyers already deployed in the eastern Mediterranean are equipped with the Aegis combat system, which can protect troops in the region from ballistic defense missiles.

Two U.S. officials said that Iran has readied more than a hundred cruise missiles for a possible strike.

Some 3,400 US troops are in Iraq and Syria with tens of thousands more U.S. personnel in the Middle East region.

Late Friday, as he boarded Air Force One, when asked if he was concerned about Iran killing Americans, Biden told reporters "I’m always afraid of that."

Earlier Friday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the administration was monitoring the situation "very, very closely," and that while its top priority was ensuring Israel is able to defend itself from a potential Iranian attack, the U.S was also "doing everything we can to protect our people and our facilities."

"It would be imprudent if we didn't take a look at our own posture in the region, to make sure that we're properly prepared as well," he said.

In a sign of how seriously the U.S. views the risk of escalation, the Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla, the commander of U.S. Central Command, had "moved up" a previously scheduled trip to Israel to meet with senior Israeli military leaders "due to recent developments."

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also spoke by phone with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday afternoon "to discuss the current situation in the Middle East and to reaffirm the U.S.'s ironclad commitment to Israel's security against threats from Iran and its proxies," according to Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon's press secretary

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