Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday about the IDF’s pending retaliatory strike on Iran amid tensions between the two leaders.
The call, which lasted about 45 minutes, marks the first time Netanyahu and Biden have spoken since August. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also the Democratic contender for the presidency, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken were on the call.
“The two leaders were able to have a productive straight forward honest conversation,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in Washington.
She confirmed that the two men had discussed Iran but refrained from any further details.
“They continued that discussion about how they're how Israel is going to respond to Iran's attack from last week and a bunch of other things that are incredibly important to both leaders,” Jean-Pierre said.
She recalled that the US military had helped defend Israel against Iran’s ballistic missile attacks, stressing that, “our commitment to Israel’s security continues to be ironclad.”
Opposed to any Israeli strike against Iranian nuclear facilities
US officials have in the past been clear that they would oppose any Israeli retaliatory strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, with US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew stating that this isn’t a step one takes because the military “had a good week.”Tensions between Netanyahu and Biden, as well as between the prime minister and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, have continued to be interspersed with the basic strategic conversation about how best to respond to Iran.Gallant had been expected to travel to Washington Tuesday to discuss Iran with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, but, at the prime minister’s insistence, the trip was delayed until after the Netanyahu-Biden call and a meeting of the security cabinet.The Defense Ministry clarified on Wednesday that all Gallant’s trips to the United States to discuss security matters would have Netanyahu’s approval.“The defense minister is a representative of the Israeli government and the prime minister, and any political travel will only be carried out with official approval,” Gallant’s office said.Gallant had informed Netanyahu of Austin’s invitation last week and “the two agreed that [Gallant] would prepare to fly on Tuesday night after security discussions take place.”“At the prime minister’s request, the defense minister postponed his trip last night until after the prime minister’s political conversation with the president of the United States,” the Defense Ministry said.Netanyahu has promised that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with vast destruction, raising fears of a wider war in the oil-producing region, which could draw in the United States.In advance of the call, Netanyahu spoke about Iran with a delegation from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.“There is only one force in the world fighting Iran right now. There’s only one force in the world that stands in Iran’s way to conquest. And that force is Israel. If we don’t fight, we die. But it’s not only our fight, it’s the free world’s fight, and, I would say, the civilized world’s fight,” Netanyahu stated.This dictatorship, he said, “wants to throw us all back into a dark age. They want to destroy us and others. Us first, because we stand in their way of conquering the Middle East, but they want to subjugate the world and bring it back to dark ages,” he stated.
Netanyahu also spoke with former US President Donald Trump about the IDF strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the aftermath of Israel’s assassination of the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, the Prime Minister's Office said.
Trump, the Republican nominee for president, called Netanyahu last week while campaigning for the White House. The two men have a strong relationship, with Netanyahu visiting him in Florida in July.Trump “congratulated [Netanyahu] on the determined and powerful actions that Israel carried out against Hezbollah,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in describing the call.US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was also on the call. The Prime Minister’s Office released information about the Trump call on the same day that Netanyahu spoke with Biden.
Reuters contributed to this report.