“Our dedication to Israel’s safety towards threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad.”
Washington:
US President Joe Biden promised “ironclad” assist for Israel towards assaults by Iran on Saturday, with American forces taking pictures down Iranian drones amid a spiraling disaster within the Center East.
Biden reduce brief a weekend journey to the Delaware coast and held an emergency assembly on the White Home along with his prime nationwide safety officers after Iran launched its unprecedented assault.
“I simply met with my nationwide safety staff for an replace on Iran’s assaults towards Israel. Our dedication to Israel’s safety towards threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” Biden mentioned on X.
I simply met with my nationwide safety staff for an replace on Iran’s assaults towards Israel. Our dedication to Israel’s safety towards threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad. pic.twitter.com/kbywnsvmAx
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 13, 2024
He posted an image of the assembly within the wood-paneled White Home State of affairs Room with officers together with Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director Invoice Burns.
Iran had vowed retaliation after a presumed Israeli strike on April 1 leveled an Iranian diplomatic constructing in Damascus, killing seven members of the elite Revolutionary Guards together with two generals.
After launching the drone strikes, Tehran warned the USA Sunday to “keep away” from its battle with Israel.
However US forces later shot down among the Iranian drones, in an extra present of assist for the important thing regional ally it has provided with billions of {dollars} in navy support for its six-month-old struggle in Gaza.
“US forces within the area proceed to shoot down Iranian-launched drones concentrating on Israel,” a US protection official mentioned.
“Our forces stay postured to offer extra defensive assist and to guard US forces working within the area.”
– ‘Threats’ –
US Nationwide Safety Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson mentioned individually that the USA would “stand with the individuals of Israel and assist their protection towards these threats from Iran.”
Biden was in “fixed communication” with the Israelis and different allies, Watson added.
The US president, carrying a blue baseball cap, had earlier made no remark to ready reporters as he boarded his helicopter Marine One in Rehoboth Seashore, Delaware, to fly again to Washington.
He had been on account of keep within the coastal city the place he owns a home till Sunday, however reduce the journey brief for consultations on the Center East scenario, the White Home mentioned.
Biden had arrived in Rehoboth lower than 24 hours earlier, shortly after warning Iran to not assault Israel however saying he anticipated an assault sooner relatively than later.
Biden’s dealing with of the Center East battle may even be underneath scrutiny in a US presidential election yr.
Former US president Donald Trump, Biden’s rival in November’s election, mentioned the Democratic incumbent was displaying “weak spot.”
“God bless the individuals of Israel. They’re underneath assault proper now. That is as a result of we present nice weak spot,” Republican Trump mentioned at a marketing campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
Earlier Saturday, White Home Nationwide Safety Advisor Jake Sullivan and protection chief Austin each spoke to their Israeli counterparts to guarantee them of US assist.
Tensions had ratcheted up earlier within the day when Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized a container ship close to the Strait of Hormuz that was “associated to the Zionist regime,” the time period it makes use of for Israel, state media reported.
The White Home condemned the seizure of the British-owned vessel as an “act of piracy.”
“We name on Iran to launch the vessel and its worldwide crew instantly,” Watson mentioned.
On Thursday the Pentagon mentioned the highest US commander for the Center East had traveled to Israel for talks on safety threats with the nation’s navy officers.
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf with the Indian Ocean and, in response to the US Vitality Info Administration, greater than a fifth of world oil consumption passes by means of it every year.
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