Topline
President Joe Biden called on Iran to “stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack” toward Israel in a joint statement with leaders of the U.K., France, Germany and Italy on Monday, as tensions reach a boiling point amid concerns Iran and its proxies could strike Israel over the recent killings of several Hamas and Hezbollah militant leaders.
President Joe Biden and a group of Western leaders called on Iran to “stand down” military threats … [+]
Key Facts
In the joint statement, Biden and the other leaders warned of “serious consequences for regional security” in the case of an Iranian-led military attack on Israel, a key ally of the U.S, and reiterated their “support for the defense of Israel against Iranian aggression.”
The plea comes as Israel puts its military on high alert and the U.S. Department of Defense sends a guided-missile submarine and an aircraft carrier into the region, with White House spokesperson John Kirby warning Monday a “significant set of attacks” on Israel by Iran or its allied groups could take place this week.
Iran has vowed a “tough” retaliation for the killing of Hamas’ top political leader Ismail Haniyeh last month while he stayed in Iran’s capital, Tehran—a high-profile attack against an Iranian ally that Israel did not take responsibility for, but some U.S. officials reportedly assess Israel planned.
Tensions have heightened over the past month, following a rocket strike last month that killed over 10 people in Israel’s Golan Heights (Israel blamed the strike on Lebanon-based militant group and Iran ally Hezbollah, which denied the claim, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Hezbollah would “pay a heavy price” for it).
Other Israeli strikes have targeted Iranian commanders and leaders of allied groups, with Israel killing Iranian Gen. Mohammed Reza Zahedi in April, as well as Hezbollah commander Faud Shukr in Beirut following the Golan Heights attack late last month.
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What We Don’t Know
Iran has threatened retaliation and said it would “punish” Israel in a “legitimate and resolute manner,” though privately, Iranian officials cautioned against an all-out war, sources told The Washington Post.
Key Background
Conflict between Israel and multiple Iran-backed groups has scaled up in recent months following Gaza-based militant group Hamas’ attack on southern Israel and Israel’s invasion of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip last October, sparking concerns of a wider regional conflict. Some of those attacks have involved U.S. troops, including a strike by the Yemen-based Houthi rebels on a U.S. ship in the Red Sea last December and another airstrike on an airbase in Iraq last week that left five U.S. troops dead (U.S. helicopters led a counteroffensive against a trio of Houthi boats in the Red Sea following the Houthi attack, while after the drone strike on the airbase in Iraq, Iran has not taken responsibility for that attack). Biden’s warning against Iran on Monday is also not his first. In April, Biden told reporters he expected an Iranian attack on Israel “sooner rather than later,” following reports Iran was planning a retaliatory attack for a deadly airstrike on its embassy in Syria earlier in April that killed 16 people (Iran blamed Israel for the strike). When asked at the time if Biden had a message for Iran, he simply said: “Don’t.” Several days later, Iran conducted a drone attack on Israel, sparking outrage from some western officials, while Republican lawmakers in the U.S. called for American airstrikes against Iran. Biden at the time said the U.S. support for Israel remains “ironclad,” though in private conversations he reportedly told Netanyahu the U.S. would not join an Israeli strike against Iran.
Tangent
One of the most recent attacks in the region came last Monday on the al-Asad airbase in western Iraq, killing at least five U.S. troops and contractors.
Further Reading
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