President Joe Biden said on Friday he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields if he were in Israel's shoes, adding he thinks Israel has not yet concluded how to respond to Iran.
"The Israelis have not concluded what they are going to do in terms of a strike. That's under discussion," Biden said in remarks to reporters at a White House press briefing.
"If I were in their shoes, I'd be thinking about other alternatives than striking oilfields," the president added.
Tensions between Iran and Israel have been high as Israel has been weighing options to respond to Tehran's ballistic missile attack on Tuesday, which Iran had carried out in response to Israel's military action in Lebanon.
Biden was also asked if he thought that by not engaging in diplomacy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to influence the Nov. 5 US election in which Republican former President Donald Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
"Whether he is trying to influence the election, I don't know, but I am not counting on that," Biden said in response. "No administration has done more to help Israel than I have."
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered by Palestinian Hamas terrorists' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 and in which about 250 were taken hostage.
Transition of power
Biden also said that he is confident that the upcoming presidential election will be fairly conducted, but he warned that Republican candidate Donald Trump and his running mate could refuse to accept the outcome.
"I'm confident it will be free and fair. I don't know whether it will be peaceful. The things that Trump has said, and the things that he said last time out when he didn't like the outcome of the election, were very dangerous," Biden said.
Biden said it was notable that Trump's running mate, US Senator JD Vance, would not confirm during this week's vice presidential debate that he would accept the outcome of the vote in the Nov. 5 election.
Trump is running against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for president in a tight race that will come down to a handful of battleground states.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.