National Security spokesperson John Kirby stated on Sunday that the White House is adopting a “wait and see” strategy in reaction to Iran’s attempted strike on Israel as President Joe Biden seeks to defuse the issue diplomatically rather than militarily.
“I think we have to wait and see what the Israelis decide to do,” Kirby stated. “President Biden, since the beginning of this conflict, has worked very hard to keep this from becoming a broader regional war, to keep the tensions from escalating.”
On Saturday, Iran launched several hundred aerial weapons, including more than 100 ballistic missiles, towards Israel. Israel, the United States, and other regional allies worked together to intercept the majority of these missiles.
Attempts have been made by the Biden administration to defuse the consequences of the strike, which first appeared to have the capacity to lead to a full-scale conflict in the Middle East.
“If successful, this attack could have caused an uncontrollable escalation and broad regional conflict, something we have worked day and night to avoid since October 7,” the official stated.
The person said that Israel has communicated to the United States that “they’re not looking for a significant escalation with Iran.”
Biden met with the leaders of the G-7 on Sunday to talk about the incident in Iran. Biden stated in a statement on Saturday that the purpose of the conference was “to coordinate a united diplomatic response,” implying that the White House was determined to utilize diplomacy as an alternative to military action.
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The person stated that the G-7 leaders talked about sanctions and the potential for other countries to follow the United States in labeling Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization during their meeting.
According to a statement from Iran’s U.N. mission on Saturday, Iran indicated that its strike “can be deemed concluded,” raising the possibility that the escalation may be coming to an end, at least temporarily.
Tehran has previously issued a warning that it was preparing retaliatory actions in reaction to the April 1 attack on its consulate in Damascus, which it blames on Israel. In response, Israel declared that if Iran carried out those threats, it would “react and attack.”
In a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night, Biden stated that while the United States is committed to aiding Israel in defending itself, it will not take part in offensive operations against Iran. This information was provided by a senior administration official.
“It’s going to be up to the Israelis to decide what the next step is here,” Kirby stated.
