The positions of the United States and Israel on the situation in the Middle East are close, writes The Times of Israel.
“The United States and Israel are broadly on the same page regarding strategic challenges in the Middle East following Wednesday’s phone conversation between…Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden,” – says the newspaper report.
According to an Israeli source, the conversation, which discussed Israel’s plans to respond to Iran, “was the culmination of discussions between US and Israeli officials that have been ongoing since October 1,” when Tehran launched missiles. against Israel.
However, the White House in its report on the Biden-Netanyahu phone call did not mention whether the possibility of an Israeli attack was discussed, saying only that Biden only “reaffirmed his strong commitment to Israel’s security” and “unequivocally condemned Iran’s missile attack on Israel on October 1.”
The Times of Israel source added that discussions will continue in the coming days and the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant must meet with an American colleague lloyd austin at the Pentagon next week.
Meanwhile, the Axios portal reports that Biden and Netanyahu during the conversation “came closer to understanding the scale of Israel’s planned retaliation attack against Iran.”
According to the portal’s sources, current Israeli plans “remain somewhat more aggressive than the White House would like,” but the US administration is “a little less nervous” after the conversation between Biden and Netanyahu.
Disagreements between the United States and Israel over the nature and scope of the response to Iran have narrowed, according to a senior Israeli official.
Axios also clarifies that the conversation between the leaders was preceded by a separate conversation between the US Presidential National Security Advisor. Jake Sullivan and the Minister of Strategic Affairs of Israel Ron Dermer with “the most detailed discussion of Israel’s plans.”
On October 1, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a large number of missiles against Israel as part of Operation True Promise 2. The Israeli military said it would respond to the attack when it saw fit.
The Washington Post reported then that at least 20 long-range Iranian missiles penetrated the air defenses of Israel and its allies, hitting at least three Israeli military and intelligence bases, including Nevatim and Tel Nof. The Israel Defense Forces later admitted that several Iranian missiles hit the Nevatim and Tel Nof air bases.
The head of the Israeli Defense Ministry, Galant, promised that Israel’s retaliatory attack against Iran would be unexpected for Tehran, Interfax recalls.
