Joe Biden said yesterday that he would not support Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, as the US sought to temper Israel's response to Iran's missile attack in an effort to contain an escalating regional conflict.
The US president's comments came after the top Israeli diplomat at the UN warned his country's retaliation for an Iranian salvo of nearly 200 ballistic missiles on Tuesday would be heavier than Tehran "could ever have imagined".
On the same day, the Israeli chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, warned: "We have the capabilities to reach and strike any point in the Middle East", a reality that Israel's enemies would "soon understand".
There is general acceptance in Washington that Israel will carry out a military response that is almost certain to go further than its only previous airstrikes against Iran, when missiles were fired at an air defence installation near Isfahan after an Iranian aerial attack in April.
But the Biden administration fears that a major Israeli response, particularly one targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, could trigger further escalation that could ultimately draw in US forces, and potentially an Iranian decision to try to build nuclear weapons.
Almost all the Iranian missiles on Tuesday were intercepted by Israel's layered air defences, and the sole fatality was a Palestinian killed by falling debris on the West Bank.
An unspecified number of the missiles, however, landed on or near Israeli airbases at Nevatim and Tel Nof, damaging office buildings and other maintenance areas, though not aircraft or personnel.
Washington first raised the alarm a few hours before Iran's missile launch on Tuesday night, and since then US officials have been locked in urgent talks with their Israeli counterparts on their country's response.
この記事は The Guardian の October 03, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Guardian の October 03, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Money hacks How to use your Christmas gift vouchers wisely
The first thing to do is read the small print (it could be very small if it is squeezed on the back).
'It's not job done' More change to come as M&S gets its spark back
M&S menswear, above, is starting to compete for style with specialist rivals while the company's menswear has successfully caught the attention of younger buyers
Taken to court ... as a victim of identity theft
A fraudulent phone contract has been taken out in my husband's name and he is now threatened with court action.
New start Is 2025 the right time to become your own boss?
Going freelance is not without risk but if you want to shed the shackles of your 9-5, then Suzanne Bearne can help you plan it properly
Feeling the heat British Gas hit by 400,000 complaints
It has been both astonishing and appalling in equal measure,\" says Jonathan Hattersley, 66, from Cambridgeshire.
Biden Blocks Japanese Firm's $15bn Bid for US Steel Over Security Fears
Joe Biden blocked a $14.9bn (£12bn) bid by Japan's Nippon Steel for US Steel yesterday, citing concerns the deal could hurt national security and following through on a pledge to keep the company domestically owned as he prepares to depart the White House.
We're like snipers' Lethal and cheap, drones dominate the frontline now
Denys, a soldier with Ukraine's Khyzhak brigade, describes a new kind of war. Standing in a barracks workshop with piles of basic Ukrainian first-person view (FPV) drones behind him, he says: \"There are fewer gunfights because there are more drone fights.\" Frontlines that were once a gunshot apart are now a killing zone several miles deep as Russian and Ukrainian drone squads hidden behind the frontlines target each other's forces with aerial attacks. \"Back in 2022, we were still running around with machine guns from the tree lines,\" Denys says, almost with nostalgia.
Profits at GB News owner's hedge fund plunge 64%
Profits at the hedge fund co-founded by the GB News and Spectator owner Sir Paul Marshall plunged by almost two-thirds last year, resulting in significantly reduced payouts for its partners.
Call to stick to tougher green targets amid record EV sales
Carmakers sold a record number of electric cars in the UK last year, prompting environmental groups to urge the government to stick to tougher green targets even as the industry argues they are unsustainable.
Handbags and watches help take Thailand PM's declared worth to £322m
Thailand's prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has declared £322m in assets, including a collection of 217 designer handbags and 75 luxury watches in submissions on her wealth to a government body.
