President Joe Biden and his national security team monitored Iran’s air attack on Israel on Saturday as U.S. forces joined forces to destroy explosive-laden drones launched by Tehran.
Tensions are at their highest levels since War between Israel and Hamas Starting six months ago, Biden pledged that American support for defending Israel from attacks by Iran and its proxies was “iron.”
U.S. forces shot down several Iranian-launched attack drones flying toward Israel, according to a U.S. defense official and two other U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.
A Defense Department spokesman said efforts to intercept the attack were ongoing.
Biden interrupted a weekend at his Delaware beach house to meet with his national security team at the White House on Saturday afternoon, returning to Washington minutes before Israeli officials confirmed they had detected drones being launched toward their territory from Iran.
He convened a major meeting of the National Security Council in the White House Situation Room to discuss the developing situation, the White House said ahead of a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Saturday.
The attack marked the first time Iran launched a direct military attack on Israel, risking igniting a wider regional conflict.
For days, the US and Israel had been preparing for the attack, which Iran called a retaliatory attack. suspected Israeli strike attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria this month, killing 12 people, including two senior Iranian generals from the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force.
The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart “to discuss pressing regional threats… and made clear that Israel can count on the full support of the United States in defending Israel from any attacks by Iran and its regional proxies.” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also spoke with his counterpart to reinforce Washington’s “cast-iron commitment to Israel’s security.”
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement Saturday that “Iran has launched an air attack on Israel.” She added: “The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran.”
Biden on Friday said the United States is “dedicated” to defending Israel and that “Iran will not succeed.” When asked by reporters what he wanted to say to Iran, the president’s only answer was: “Don’t.”
He ignored a question about what might prompt a direct US military response, and when asked how imminent an Iranian attack on Israel was, Biden said he didn’t want to go into classified information, “but I expect it to happen sooner rather than later.” “
The US, along with its allies, sent direct messages to Tehran, warning them against further escalation of the conflict.
During the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, there were almost daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border. U.S. officials have recorded more than 150 attacks by Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria on U.S. military bases in those countries since the war began on Oct. 7.
One attack in late January killed three American troops in Jordan. The US responded with a massive air attack, hitting more than 85 targets in seven locations in Iraq and Syria.
Meanwhile on Saturday commando from the paramilitary Iranian Revolutionary Guard descended from a helicopter onto an Israeli-linked container ship near the Strait of Hormuz and hijacked the ship.
Watson, the NSC spokesman, said the United States strongly condemned the seizure and called on Iran to immediately release the ship and crew.
“We will work with our partners to hold Iran accountable for its actions,” she said.
Also on Saturday, the Israeli-occupied West Bank also saw its worst violence since the Hamas attack on Israel.