Israel has not yet pledged to the Biden administration that it would not target Iranian nuclear facilities in response to Tuesday’s ballistic missile attack, a US State Department official told CNN on Friday.
This official told CNN that it was difficult to assess when Israel would retaliate but estimated that a counter-strike would likely occur before or after October 7, the anniversary of Hamas’s cross-border massacres in southern Israel, rather than on the day itself.
Further, regarding whether Israel has confirmed to the US that Iran’s nuclear sites are viable targets, the official told CNN that the Biden administration hopes to see “Some wisdom as well as strength…but as you guys know, no guarantees.”
Biden has said he would not support Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities
The comment followed earlier reports that President Joe Biden would not support an Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
When asked if he supported an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Biden, while speaking to reporters, said “No.”
Biden said that his administration was in contact with the Israelis regarding the response and that he would soon speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden, however, did not give a timeline for the call.
Tovah Lazaroff and Hannah Sarisohn contributed to this report.
