By Trevor Hunnicutt, Maayan Lubell and Matt Spetalnick
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a call on Wednesday amid tensions with Iran, while Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed that an attack Israeli attack against Iran will be “lethal, precise and surprising.”
The 30-minute call was the first known conversation between Biden and Netanyahu since August and coincides with a sharp escalation of Israel’s conflict with Iran and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah, but with no sign of an imminent ceasefire to end the conflict. with Iran. supported Hamas in Gaza.
The call was “direct and very productive,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, although she acknowledged that the two leaders have disagreements and are open about it.
The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel’s response to a missile attack last week that Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel’s military escalation in Lebanon. The Iranian attack ultimately did not kill anyone in Israel.
After describing Iran’s Oct. 1 missile attack as a failure, Gallant said in a video released by his office after the call between Biden and Netanyahu ended: “Whoever attacks us will be hurt and will pay a price. Our attack It will be deadly and precise.” and above all surprising, they will not understand what happened and how it happened, they will see the results.”
Netanyahu has vowed that his arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliation would cause widespread destruction, raising fears of a broader war in the oil-producing region that could draw in the United States.
The United States has said it supports Israel pursuing Iranian-backed targets such as Hezbollah and Hamas, but has tried unsuccessfully to stem the growing conflict, negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza and persuade Israel to stop rocket attacks on areas residential areas that have killed thousands of people. of people.
Relations between Biden and Netanyahu have been strained, strained by the Israeli leader’s handling of the war in Gaza and the conflict with Hezbollah. Israel has said it will continue its military operations until Israelis are safe.
In “War,” a book to be published next week, journalist Bob wood (NASDAQ:) reports that Biden regularly accused Netanyahu of having no strategy and yelled “Bibi, what the fuck?” against him in July, after Israeli attacks near Beirut and in Iran.
When asked about the book, a U.S. official familiar with the two leaders’ past interactions said Biden has used sharp, direct, unfiltered and colorful language both with and about Netanyahu while in office.
Wednesday’s call was “a positive call and we appreciate the support of the United States,” Israel’s U.N. ambassador Danny Danon told reporters.
“And as we said before, Israel will retaliate for the attack… We will choose the locations. It will be painful for the Iranian regime,” Danon said.
Gallant canceled a Wednesday visit to the Pentagon, the Pentagon said. Gallant said in a statement that he had postponed the visit at Netanyahu’s request until after the prime minister spoke with Biden.
Tensions have risen in recent weeks as U.S. officials were repeatedly surprised by Israeli actions, according to a person familiar with the matter. These included Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon, the conduct of which Israel has neither confirmed nor denied.
Israel has also been slow to share details of its retaliation planning against Iran’s ballistic missile attack, the person said.
Biden said last Friday that he would think about alternatives to attacking Iranian oil fields if he were in Israel’s shoes, adding that he thought Israel had not decided how to respond to Iran. Last week, he also said he would not support Israel attacking Iranian nuclear sites.
ELECTORAL ISSUE
Biden has received harsh criticism from international partners, as well as members of his own Democratic Party, for his failure to use his influence, including the United States’ role as Israel’s main weapons supplier, to stop Netanyahu’s attacks.
By extension, Kamala Harris, Biden’s vice president and Democratic presidential candidate in the Nov. 5 election, has been challenged to defend the administration’s policy during the campaign. Harris joined the call with Biden and Netanyahu, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Some Arab American voters in Michigan are backing independent candidate Jill Stein, a move that could cost Harris the key state and perhaps the White House in a race with former Republican President Donald Trump that opinion polls show is very close. .
Harris trails Trump in Michigan with 47% of voters to his 50%, a new Quinnipiac University poll showed Wednesday. In a September 18 poll, Harris got 50% of the vote and Trump got 45%.
Israel and Netanyahu in particular have faced widespread condemnation for the nearly 42,000 Palestinians killed in the Gaza war, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and for the deaths of more than 2,000 people in Lebanon.
Israel says it is defending itself after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli counts, and from attacks by other militants, including Hezbollah, who support to Hamas.