Israel to coordinate response to Iranian attack with allies – NYT
Israel intends to coordinate its response to the recent massive Iranian drone and missile attack with its allies, the New York Times (NYT) reported on Sunday, citing sources.
However, an unnamed Israeli official would not disclose to the NYT when and with whom West Jerusalem would hold those consultations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already spoken by phone with US President Joe Biden since Iran's overnight strikes. The US leader reaffirmed “America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel” and hailed the country’s “remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks.”
Biden also said that he would hold talks with G7 leaders “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack,” adding that the US would stay in close touch with Israel’s leaders. Several Western nations have strongly condemned Tehran’s strikes.
At the same time, Axios reported US officials as saying Biden told Netanyahu that Washington would not support an Israeli tit-for-tat response out of concern it could trigger an all-out regional war. The Times of Israel reported that West Jerusalem had yet to decide on how and whether it should respond to the attack.
Meanwhile, Iran announced the end of the operation, saying that it was meant as “punishment” for what Tehran believes was an Israeli attack on its consulate in Damascus earlier this month, which killed several senior Iranian military officers.
However, Iran warned Israel that any retaliatory measures would be met with a “much more extensive” pushback.
The weekend raid involved more than 300 Iranian missiles and drones, according to Israeli officials, who have claimed 99% of the projectiles were intercepted. At the same time, Iran has assessed the attack as even more successful than expected, claiming to have destroyed two Israeli facilities.
