Biden says Israel should not attack Iranian nuclear facilities, but U.S. officials acknowledge it has the right to respond to attacks

CNN
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President Joe Biden is advising Israel to respond appropriately to Iranian ballistic missile fire this week and opposes a possible attack on Iranian nuclear facilities in hopes of preventing further escalation of the conflict that has erupted in the region.

Two senior administration officials told CNN that American officials are not privately trying to persuade Israel to hold off on retaliatory measures against Iran, a notable difference from April when Biden encouraged Israel to “claim victory” after a barrage of Iranian drones Missiles had been successfully intercepted.

Instead, Biden hopes Israel will take a measured approach that both preserves its right to retaliate and avoids actions that could lead to further retaliation and plunge the region into all-out war.

“No one is saying not to respond,” said a senior administration official. “Nobody says, 'Take victory.'”

It remains to be seen how this message will be received by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, especially as his political position appears more secure following successful efforts to weaken Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Iran has made a big mistake and will pay for it,” he said at the start of a security cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Biden's efforts to influence his Israeli counterpart over the past year have been largely ineffective, and the two men have not spoken since August. Biden told reporters on Wednesday that he planned to speak with Netanyahu “relatively soon,” but did not appear to have scheduled a conversation.

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said talks with Israel were ongoing and stressed the risks of the situation.

“The region is truly on a knife's edge and there is real concern about an even broader escalation … which could jeopardize not only Israel but also our strategic interests,” Campbell said Wednesday.

The stakes couldn't be higher right now. Biden is watching with growing concern as tensions in the region worsen. Attempts to negotiate ceasefire agreements both in the Gaza Strip and along the Israel-Lebanon border have been largely unsuccessful. And the upcoming American presidential election has increased the challenges of dealing with the crisis.

The scale of Tuesday's attack far exceeded the shower of shells Iran fired at Israel in April. Israel and the United States again managed to repel the missiles, thanks in part to months of efforts to coordinate the response. But the scale of the attack, which Biden described as “brazen” in the hours after the attack, led American officials to conclude that an Israeli response was warranted.

“Israel has the right to respond. It should be a proportionate response,” Biden told reporters on Wednesday after a virtual call with leaders of the Group of 7 industrialized nations. He said leaders agreed on this point and were preparing to impose new sanctions on Iran.

That's a different tone from mid-April, when U.S. officials encouraged Israel to acknowledge that Iran had caused limited damage and urged them to move on. Israel did respond against Iran, albeit on a limited scale, and attacked an air defense system in Isfahan.

A major Israeli counterattack is now expected, which could include a number of targets. The administration currently considers it unlikely that Israel would attack Iran's nuclear facilities, although a senior official said Israel still had not decided where it might strike.

“Take a break and think about it”

“They do the smartest thing, take their time and think about it,” the official said.

Biden said Wednesday he does not support an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. “The answer is no,” he said when asked about the prospect of Israel launching a retaliatory strike against sites linked to Iran’s nuclear program.

Such a decision by Israel would almost certainly trigger the spiraling conflict that Biden has worked to prevent in the year since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7. But for Netanyahu and some of his toughest advisers, it could spell the end once and for all of what is seen as an existential threat to Israel.

After this week's attacks, the U.S. is closely monitoring all activities related to Iran's nuclear program but has not seen any recent changes, two U.S. officials said.

A key U.S. concern is the possibility that Iran could expand its nuclear program after Israel successfully degraded its proxies in Lebanon and Gaza and thwarted its ballistic missile attack.

Although there is currently no indication that Iran will or plans to do so, US officials are still monitoring the possibility of such a move.

There has been no dramatic change in Iran's nuclear posture recently, although Iran has continued to produce fissile material for its nuclear program over the past year. Earlier this year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Iran's breakout time — the amount of time it takes to produce enough nuclear material for a nuclear weapon — is “probably a week or two now.”

No Israelis were injured or killed in Tuesday's Iranian attack, which appeared to target military and intelligence facilities. A Palestinian man was killed in the West Bank by falling shrapnel from an interceptor missile fired by Israel, according to the hospital where he was treated.

With the two-day Jewish New Year holiday of Rosh Hashanah beginning on Wednesday, there is some expectation that Israeli retaliation could be days away.

“They have the holiday to buy time and space,” one of the senior U.S. officials said.

But the days-long wait for an answer also prolongs the anticipation in a region already teetering on the brink, especially as Israel's operation against Hezbollah continues. CNN reported Wednesday that U.S. officials and Israelis believe about 50% of the Iranian proxy group's arsenal has been destroyed.

The White House is clearly aware that the outcome of the next few weeks will have some influence on the presidential election. Vice President Kamala Harris – the Democratic nominee – is unlikely to want a full-scale regional war that her opponent can use to accuse the Biden administration of incompetence.

A close observer of American politics, Netanyahu is also aware of how Israel's actions could affect the race in the coming weeks. Some Western officials believe he sees an opportunity to take decisive action against Iran in the crucial political period, aware that Biden and Harris have faced criticism from all sides over their handling of the war.

Harris, for her part, appeared Tuesday afternoon to read a carefully worded statement on the Iranian attacks in Israel.

“I have a clear view,” she said, not deflecting from prepared remarks. “Iran is a destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East, and today’s attack on Israel only further underscores that fact.”