Netanyahu told Biden Israel will not attack Iranian nuclear or oil sites – report
US president said to be calmed by commitment to only attack military sites, fears broader attack would affect November election; PM’s office says Israeli interests paramount
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden that Israel’s retaliation against Iran for its ballistic missile attack will not include strikes on non-military sites, according to a report Monday suggesting the Israeli premier had curtailed planned action to avoid interfering with the US election.
The Washington Post report, citing two officials familiar with the matter, including one identified as a US official, pointed to Netanyahu’s softening stance as a key factor in the US decision to send an advanced anti-ballistic missile air defense system to Israel.
The Middle East has been on high alert for weeks as it awaits Israel’s promised reprisal after Iran launched some 200 ballistic missiles at the country on October 1 in revenge for the killing of Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah.
The US has sought to temper Jerusalem’s plans to retaliate for the attack — which forced most of the country to rush to bomb shelters and safe rooms, and killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank — fearing that the escalating tit-for-tats could spark a wider war drawing in others in the region. The attack caused damage in Israel, including in Israeli airbases, though the military has said that no aircraft or critical infrastructure were hit, and the Israeli Air Force was operating at full capacity.
In a call to discuss Israel’s plans on October 8, Netanyahu told Biden that Israel was planning on limiting its attack to military sites, the Post reported.
Israel had previously been thought to be mulling attacks on Iranian oil infrastructure or nuclear sites, both opposed by the US for their potential to escalate fighting, including Iranian reprisals aimed at civilian infrastructure in Israel or other regional states aligned with the West.
According to one official cited in the report, Israel’s retaliation will be designed to avoid “political interference in the US elections.”
An attack on oil infrastructure could lead to higher energy prices, while a strike on a nuclear facility might widen the fighting and draw in US involvement. American voters unhappy with either outcome could voice their displeasure at the ballot box, hurting Democratic US Vice President Kamala Harris and helping Republican Donald Trump.
Gulf states have also lobbied Washington to stop Israel from attacking Iran’s oil sites because they are concerned their own oil facilities could come under fire from Tehran’s proxies if the conflict escalates.
Responding to the report in a late-night message, the Prime Minister’s Office indicated that Israel’s security needs would trump any other calculus.
“We listen to the American government’s thoughts, but will make our final decisions based on Israel’s national security needs,” the PMO said in a statement.
The officials quoted by the Post said that Netanyahu’s “more moderated” stance had calmed US fears and prompted Biden to agree to send Israel a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system, or THAAD, to protect it from whatever reprisal Iran launches in response to Israel’s retaliation.
The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that it was sending a THAAD battery to Israel, along with around 100 soldiers to operate the system.
The report also suggested that Israel was keeping the timing of its reprisal open-ended, though one official said it would come before the November 5 election, describing the imminent action as “one in a series of responses.”
A source close to Netanyahu quoted by the newspaper said the premier was coordinating with the US but would not await the White House’s okay before launching its strike.
Netanyahu was set to convene a security meeting Monday night at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, the office of one of the participating ministers told The Times of Israel.
The meeting was the latest ostensibly called to discuss Israel’s looming reprisal, though reports said ministers had not been asked to approve plans in previous discussions.
There was no official statement on the meeting.
Previous reports have suggested that the call between Netanyahu and Biden, the first in some two months, had helped bring Washington and Jerusalem closer together on the Iran issue after the countries appeared to stop coordinating on Israeli strikes against Hezbollah amid fraying ties between the leaders.
However, an official quoted by Axios after the call said Israel’s planned response was still more aggressive than the US would prefer.
Nasrallah, who led the Iranian-backed terror group through decades of conflict with Israel, was killed in an airstrike in Beirut on September 27.
