“Our commitment to Israel’s security from threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad.”
Washington:
U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday pledged “ironclad” support for Israel in its defense against Iranian attacks after U.S. forces shot down an Iranian drone amid an escalating crisis in the Middle East.
Biden cut short a weekend trip to the Delaware coast and held an emergency meeting with top national security officials at the White House after Iran launched an unprecedented attack.
“I just met with my national security team to get an update on Iran’s attacks on Israel,” Biden said on
I just met with my national security team to get an update on Iran’s attack on Israel. Our commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad. pic.twitter.com/kbywnsvmAx
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 13, 2024
He posted a photo of a meeting in the wood-paneled White House Situation Room with officials including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director Bill Burns.
On April 1, a presumed Israeli attack destroyed an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus, killing seven elite members of the Revolutionary Guards, including two generals, and Iran vowed to retaliate.
Tehran on Sunday warned the United States to “stay away” from conflict with Israel after launching a drone strike.
But U.S. forces later shot down a number of Iranian drones in a further show of support for their key regional ally, which has provided billions of dollars in military aid to its six-month war in Gaza.
“U.S. forces in the region continue to shoot down Iranian drones targeting Israel,” a U.S. defense official said.
“Our forces remain prepared to provide additional defensive support and protect U.S. forces operating in the area.”
– ‘threaten’ –
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson also said the United States would “stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran.”
Watson added that Biden is in “constant communication” with Israel and other allies.
The US president, wearing a blue baseball cap, made no comment to waiting reporters earlier as he boarded the Marine One helicopter in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to fly back to Washington.
The White House said he was scheduled to stay until Sunday in the coastal town, where he has a house, but cut his trip short to attend to negotiations on the situation in the Middle East.
Biden arrived in Rehoboth less than 24 hours ago, shortly after warning Iran not to attack Israel but saying he expected an attack sooner rather than later.
Biden’s handling of conflicts in the Middle East will also come under scrutiny in a U.S. presidential election year.
Former US President Donald Trump, Biden’s rival in the November election, said the Democratic incumbent had shown “weakness”.
“God bless the people of Israel. They are being attacked right now. That’s because we have shown tremendous weakness,” Trump, a Republican, said at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
Earlier on Saturday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Defense Secretary Austin both called their Israeli counterparts to reassure them of U.S. support.
Earlier in the day, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized a container ship “associated with the Zionist regime” near the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported, referring to Israel.
The White House condemned the seizure of the British ship as “an act of piracy.”
“We call on Iran to immediately release the ship and its international crew,” Watson said.
The top U.S. commander in the Middle East has traveled to Israel to hold talks with the country’s military officials about security threats, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf to the Indian Ocean and carries more than a fifth of global oil consumption through it each year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
