President Joe Biden reiterated his “ironclad” support for Israel on Saturday as the US helped Israel defend itself against a wave of Iranian missiles on Saturday night.
“Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our service members, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles,” Biden told Netanyahu, according to a readout of the call released by the White House.
US intelligence has been warning of an imminent retaliation against Israel following the alleged assassination of a senior Iranian commander. In the days leading up to Saturday’s missile barrage, Biden sent military aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the Middle East as a precaution.
“I told Netanyahu that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks — sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel,” he said.
Citing a source familiar with the conversation, Axios reports that Biden expressed reservations about backing an Israeli counterstrike, concerned it could escalate the conflict further. The last known conversation reported between the two leaders saw Biden warn Netanyahu that continued backing for Israel in its war against Hamas depended on increased aid to Gaza.
