(CTN News) – President Joe Biden said US forces helped Israel shoot down nearly all of Iran’s drones and missiles on Saturday, but he sought to steer the major US partner away from retaliating against Tehran by claiming Israel has now demonstrated its power.
Biden also said that he would meet with fellow G7 leaders on Sunday to plan a diplomatic response to Tehran, indicating that he is attempting to avoid any additional military escalation that could spark a larger Middle East crisis.
The US president stated that he had contacted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reaffirm Washington’s “ironclad” support for Israel following recent heated relations over Israel’s assault in Gaza.
“I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks — sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel,” he went on to say.
He stated that he had ordered US military planes and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the Middle East in recent days as the likely threat from a suspected Israeli strike on Iranians in Damascus became evident.
“Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles,” Biden said in a statement.
Biden announced on Sunday that he would “convene my fellow G7 leaders to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.”
His statements suggested that the US is balancing its support for its friend with a desire to de-escalate tensions amid fears that Washington may be drawn into another Middle East war.
Those anxieties have grown since a putative Israeli hit on April 1 destroyed an Iranian diplomatic complex in Damascus, killing seven members of the elite Revolutionary Guards, including two generals.
After unleashing the drone attacks, Tehran cautioned the US on Sunday to “stay away” from its fight with Israel.
However, US media stated that Biden was attempting to de-escalate.
According to Axios, Biden informed Netanyahu that he would oppose an Israeli strike against Iran and urged him to “take the win.” According to NBC, he privately raised fears to others that Netanyahu was attempting to draw the United States deeper into a larger confrontation.
Earlier Saturday, Biden cut short a weekend getaway to the Delaware beaches and returned to Washington for an emergency meeting with his top national security officials.
He shared a photo of the meeting in the wood-paneled White House Situation Room with officials such as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and CIA Director Bill Burns.
Biden’s handling of the Middle East issue will also be scrutinized during a US presidential election year.
Former US President Donald Trump, Biden’s opponent in the November election, claimed the Democratic incumbent exhibited “weakness.”
“May God bless the people of Israel. They are being attacked right now. That’s because we demonstrate incredible vulnerability,” Republican Trump remarked during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
Tensions had risen earlier in the day when Iran’s Revolutionary Guards captured a container ship near the Strait of Hormuz that was “related to the Zionist regime,” as Iran refers to Israel, according to state television.
The White House called the seizure of the British-owned vessel an “act of piracy.”
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf to the Indian Ocean, and the US Energy Information Administration estimates that more than a fifth of global oil consumption passes through it each year.
