US President Joe Biden warned Iran that his commitment to Israel’s security was “iron clad” after the Islamic Republic threatened to punish the Jewish state for last week’s strike on its embassy compound in Damascus.
“We’re going to do all we can to protect Israel’s security,” Biden stressed during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House.
He specifically mentioned the issue during his introductory remarks, explaining, “We also want to address the Iranian threat to launch a significant attack on Israel.”
He recalled that he had spoken of the matter during his telephone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.
“As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel's security against these threats from Iran, and its proxies are ironclad,” Biden said, adding, “We say it again, ironclad."
Biden spoke as the two arch-foes — Israel and Iran — ratcheted up their war of words while public concern grew in Israel over the possibility of an all-out war between the two countries.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that “Iran was the central threat” facing Israel and that a direct attack on Israel from Tehran would be a “crossroads” moment, during an interview on Reshet B Radio.
“If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack Iran,” Katz said. To emphasize that message, he also posted it on X.
Iran “is the head of the snake,” he said, as he noted that it was funding all the proxy attacks Israel has experienced.
“There is no Hamas without Iran. There is no Houthis without Iran.. and there is no Hezbollah without Iran,” Katz said.
Earlier Wednesday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that Israel “must be punished and it shall be” for the Damascus strike, which Tehran said killed seven of its military advisers.
“When they attack the consulate, it is as if they have attacked our soil,” Khamenei said in a speech marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. “The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished and it shall be,” he added.
Concerns of war with Iran, Hezbollah
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant traveled to Israel’s northern border to examine the Iron Dome system there, as he spoke of how Israel in the last half-year has defended itself from two Iranian proxies, Hamas in Gaza in the south and Hezbollah in nearby Lebanon.
Hezbollah has exchanged fire daily with Israel, while Iranian proxy groups in Iraq have fired on U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq and the Houthis of Yemen have targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Gallant said, “We will know how to react very quickly with a decisive offensive action against the territory of whoever attacks our territory, no matter where it is, in the entire Middle East.
“We have this ability and the connection and response of the State of Israel is very, very effective, very powerful and one of the things we excel at over the years is that the enemy never knows what surprises we are preparing for him,” Gallant stated.
Concerns over an Iranian attack, have been coupled with apprehension of an all-out war with Hezbollah.
Israel has hoped that a diplomatic solution would be found by which Hezbollah would agree to withdraw to the Litani River as stipulated under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which set out the ceasefire terms that ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
The commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon Lt.-Gen. Aroldo Lazaro, warned Wednesday of the increasing possibility of such a war.
“The danger of escalation is real. There is no military solution to the current confrontation and violence; a political and diplomatic solution is the only way forward,” he said.
Reuters contributed to this report