Israel and Washington are closer to a consensus on the scope of Jerusalem’s planned retaliatory strike on Iran, Axios reported on Thursday, citing three U.S. and Israeli officials.
While the current plan is a more aggressive than Washington seeks, the gap between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden narrowed during their call on Wednesday, according to a senior Israeli official.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, joined the two leaders on the call, during which Biden “affirmed his ironclad commitment to Israel’s security” and “condemned unequivocally Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on Oct. 1,” per a White House readout of the call.
Biden previously said that he would oppose an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear and oil infrastructure, suggesting that such an attack would not be “proportional” to the 180-plus ballistic missiles that the Islamic Republic fired at Israel.
Nevertheless, a U.S. official told Axios that the allies were “moving in the right direction” in terms of solidifying an attack plan, with another American source confirming the administration was less concerned about the prospect.
In this respect, Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster reported that Biden has offered Israel a “compensation package” if it refrains from striking certain targets in Iran, including “extensive diplomatic backing and additional military aid.”
An Israeli official told Kan, “We consider the United States to be our ally and are always ready to listen. At the same time, we will do all that’s necessary to protect the citizens of Israel and the security of Israel.”
Israel’s Security Cabinet convened on Thursday night to authorize Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to determine the country’s response to the Iranian attack.
On Wednesday, Gallant said Israel’s strike “will be powerful, precise and above all—surprising,” adding that the Islamic Regime “will not understand what happened and how it happened.”
Netanyahu had described the Iranian ballistic missile barrage as “a big mistake,” one that it “will pay for.
“The regime in Tehran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and to exact a price from our enemies,” the premier said.