Benjamin Netanyahu Photo: Sean Gallup / Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has informed US President Joe Biden of the possibility of striking the Iranian army as a response to Tehran’s missile attack on Israel. The Washington Post writes about this, citing anonymous sources, AFP reports.
On 1 October, Iran fired about 200 missiles at Israel in response to the killing in Tehran of the leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement Ismail Haniyeh, as well as the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah organisation Hassan Nasrallah and a general of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a result of an Israeli attack near Beirut.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has vowed to launch a “deadly, precise and unexpected” strike against Iran, calling it a response to the second such missile attack in six months.
According to Washington Post sources, Netanyahu discussed the issue with Biden during a phone call, the first after more than seven weeks of silence. Netanyahu made it clear that he plans to attack Iranian military infrastructure in retaliation for the missile attacks.
US President Joe Biden has previously warned Israel against attempts to attack Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities. Tehran has also threatened a “stronger response” in the event of an attack on its infrastructure, stressing that strikes on nuclear or energy facilities would cross a “red line”.
The alleged Israeli attack, which is expected to be part of a series of retaliatory strikes, is expected to take place before the US presidential election on 5 November, but will be designed to avoid being perceived as interference in US politics.
Netanyahu reportedly took a more reserved stance during his conversation with Biden, which contributed to the US president’s decision to supply Israel with a powerful missile defence system. The Pentagon announced the deployment of the US THAAD missile defence system in Israel, which was a response to Iranian missile attacks.
