President Joe Biden and his national security team monitored Iran’s aerial attack on Israel on Saturday as U.S. forces joined forces to shoot down explosive-laden drones launched by Tehran.
With tensions at their highest level since Israel-Hamas War began six months ago, Biden pledged that U.S. support for Israel’s defense against attacks by Iran and its proxies was “ironclad.”
U.S. forces have shot down some attack drones launched by Iran and 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.
The defense official said efforts to intercept the attack were continuing.
Biden had cut short 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 launched drones to their territory from Iran.
He convened a meeting of National Security Council leaders in the White House Situation Room to discuss the evolving situation, the White House said, before speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening.
It was the first time Iran launched a direct military attack against Israel, risking a wider regional conflict.
For days, the United States and Israel were preparing for an attack – claimed by Iran in retaliation for a alleged Israeli strike this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed 12 people, including two high-ranking Iranian generals in the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force.
The Pentagon reported that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart “to discuss pressing regional threats…and made clear that Israel could count on the full support of the United States to defend Israel against any attack on Iran and its regional proxies.” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also spoke with his counterpart to reinforce Washington’s “unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.”
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement Saturday that “Iran has launched an airborne attack against Israel.” She added: “The United States will stand with the Israeli people and support their defense against these Iranian threats. »
Biden said Friday that the United States was “dedicated” to Israel’s defense and that “Iran will not succeed.” Asked by reporters what his message was for Iran, the president’s only response was: “Don’t do it.”
He ignored the question of what would trigger a direct US military response, and when asked how imminent an Iranian attack on Israel was, Biden said he did not want access to secure information , “but I hope it’s as soon as possible.”
The United States and its allies have sent direct messages to Tehran warning of a further escalation of the conflict.
During the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, there have been near-daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group along the Israel-Lebanon border. U.S. officials have recorded more than 150 attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria against U.S. forces in those countries since the war began on Oct. 7.
At the end of January, an attack killed three American soldiers in Jordan. In retaliation, the United States launched a massive air attack, hitting more than 85 targets across seven locations in Iraq and Syria.
In the meantime, Saturday, Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commandos rappelled from a helicopter onto an Israeli-affiliated container ship near the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel.
Watson, the NSC spokesperson, said the United States strongly condemns the seizure and urges Iran to immediately release the ship and its 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 some of the worst violence since Hamas’ attack on Israel.