Iran will face “severe consequences” for its large-scale missile attack against Israel on Tuesday, reported the White Houseafter The United States will use military force to help defend its closest ally in the Middle East of Iran’s second attack.
The national security advisor Jake Sullivan He said the bombardment of nearly 200 ballistic missiles against Israel on Tuesday night, the second time Iran has launched a direct attack against the Jewish state, represented a “significant escalation”.
He said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were closely monitoring developments as the spiraling violence threatens to undermine one of the U.S. leader’s main foreign policy goals: preventing an all-out war across the Middle East.
“Now we’re going to look at what are the appropriate next steps to secure, first of all, American interests, and then promote stability to the greatest extent possible as we move forward,” Sullivan told reporters at the White House.
Sullivan said that The attack had been largely ineffective, and that a civilian death was reported when initial assessments were made.
“We are also aware of reports of a terrorist attack in Jaffa that claimed the lives of several Israeli civilians and injured several others. Today, our condolences go to the families of the victims and to the family of the Palestinian civilian in Jericho,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan He declined to say what form the promised repercussions on Iran would take.which is already the subject of extensive US sanctions. “We have made it clear that there will be consequences, serious consequences,” he said. “We will work with Israel to make this happen.”
Sullivan also did not say whether the Biden administration would undertake a military-led operation to evacuate civilians from Lebanonbut warned that American citizens should leave the country as soon as possible.
“Israel, with the active support of the United States and other partners, effectively defeated this attack,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday. “We demonstrate, once again, our commitment to the defense of Israel.”
The incident is reminiscent of events in April, when Iran launched a major missile and drone attack in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed a top Iranian military official in Syria.
The attack was an ominous milestone for Israel, which was already engaged in a punitive war against Iranian-backed Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip and what until a few days ago had been a more limited conflict with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
