Israel has not disclosed its intention to target Iranian nuclear facilities in retaliation for Tuesday’s Iranian ballistic missile attack. It’s as vague as possible. A senior US State Department official told CNN on Friday that “we really don’t know” whether Israel will use the anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attack to retaliate.
Asked by CNN whether Israel had assured the US that Iran’s nuclear facilities were off the table, the official said: “We expect not only strength but also wisdom to come. “However, there is no guarantee.”
“I think in some ways they would want to avoid the 7th, so my guess is that if anything happens, it will be around that,” said a senior State Department official.
Iran fired a barrage of 181 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday night, setting off nationwide air raid sirens and forcing some 10 million Israelis to take shelter in air raid shelters. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the missile attacks that targeted three Israeli military bases near Tel Aviv.
Most of the missiles were intercepted, but there were scattered reports of damage and injuries. In Tel Aviv, two civilians were slightly injured by shrapnel, and in the West Bank city of Jericho, one Palestinian civilian was killed by fragments from a single missile, AFP news agency reported. The Israeli military quickly announced that the immediate threat had passed, and civilians were allowed to leave their air raid shelters after an hour.
Earlier this week, U.S. officials expressed support for the response to Israeli and Iranian missile attacks. “Israel, like any other country, has the right to defend itself. In terms of how Israel responds, of course there will be consequences for Iran with this attack. We are sure there will be consequences.” “We made that clear,” Matthew said. U.S. State Department Spokesperson Miller during a press conference.
President Joe Biden opposed Israel’s idea of targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“If I were in their shoes, I would consider alternatives to attacking the oil fields,” Biden said at a news conference Friday.
