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President Joe Biden on Tuesday said the US remains “fully” supportive of Israeli defense efforts following a ballistic missile attack by Iran earlier in the day.
Speaking just before he was set to receive a briefing on ongoing relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helene, Biden said US forces had “actively supported the defense of Israel” against Tehran’s offensive.
“Based on what we know now, the attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective, and this is testament to Israeli military capability and the US military,” he said. “It’s also a testament to intensive planning between the United States and Israel to anticipate and defend against the brazen attack we expected.”
He added that the US “is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel” and told reporters he’d spent his morning and part of his afternoon “meeting with my whole national security team and consulting with the Israelis.”
Biden also told reporters that his team is in “constant contact” with the Israeli government and said he would continue to be updated throughout the day.
Asked about Israel’s potential response to the attack, Biden said the matter was “in active discussion” between US and Israel officials and added that it “remains to be seen” what the consequences for Tehran will be.
He also said he would be talking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at some point, with the message he would deliver to the longtime Israeli leader depending “on what we finally conclude is needed.”
The president’s comments came just hours after White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the US will work closely with Israeli officials to determine what the response would be to nearly 200 missile attacks aimed at Israel on Tuesday, while declaring that there would be “severe consequences” for the strike.
At a White House press briefing that took place minutes after the last blasts ended in Tel Aviv, Sullivan said that Iran’s latest strike marked a serious escalation of the conflict which Hamas touched off with the October 7 terror attacks — one that has expanded into Lebanon and is now threatening to engulf much of the Middle East.
Sullivan added that there have been conversations between the White House and Israeli prime minister’s office in the immediate wake of the attacks, though he did not read out any plans for a call between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“This is a fluid situation. We will consult with the Israelis on next steps in terms of the response and how to deal with what Iran has just done, and we will continue to monitor for further threats and attacks from Iran and its proxies,” he said. “We are particularly focused on protecting US service members in the region.”
He credited the “professionalism of the IDF” and “meticulous joint planning in anticipation of the attack” for initial reports indicating that no deaths had resulted from the attack.
Sullivan also revealed that American Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers which President Biden had ordered to the region assisted in the missile defense effort. The US-built ships are equipped with the Aegis Combat System, which uses advanced radar to direct interceptors that are used to target ballistic missiles and other incoming fire.
“Obviously, this is a significant escalation by Iran, a significant event, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel,” Sullivan said.
US officials had been bracing for an Iranian response to the killing of a Hamas commander in Iran as well as the killing of Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah in the days leading up to Tuesday’s attack. The Iranian ballistic missile strikes also followed an Israeli ground invasion into southern Lebanon, part of the IDF’s efforts to eliminate Hezbollah.
The United States has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since April 1980, though the governments of Switzerland and Pakistan officially serve as “protecting powers” through which some official communications are possible.
Asked whether Iran had provided US officials with any advance notice of the attacks it intended to carry out on Israel, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not offer a direct answer.
She instead declined to read out what she described as “private diplomatic conversations” and pivoted to a promise that the US would continue standing with the Israeli government going forward.
“We are going to continue to be there for Israel to defend Israel. They have the right to defend themselves,” she said.
But a Pentagon spokesman, Major General Pat Ryder, cast doubt on that idea, telling reporters, "I'm not aware of any pre-warning by Iran about their potential attack.”
Jean-Pierre added that “there will be consequences” arising out of Tehran’s actions going forward.
“This is an ongoing, developing situation, and so you will hear more from us,” she said.
