US President Joe Biden on Sunday convened the Group of Seven advanced democracies to coordinate a rebuke to Iran for its unprecedented and largely unsuccessful airstrike against Israel and to prevent a broader regional escalation.
After their video conference, the leaders issued a joint statement “unequivocally condemning in the strongest terms” Iran’s direct attack while expressing “our full solidarity and support for Israel” and reaffirming “our commitment to its security.”
The G7, made up of the United States, Italy, Japan, Germany, France, Britain and Canada, also said that Iran, “with its actions, has taken another step towards destabilizing the region and risks causing an escalation.” uncontrollable regional”. They said their nations “stand ready to take further action now and in response to new destabilizing initiatives.”
The United States helped Israel shoot down dozens of drones and missiles fired by Tehran in what was the first time Iran launched a direct military attack against Israel. Israeli authorities said 99 percent of the incoming weapons were shot down without causing any significant damage.
“At my direction, to support Israel’s defense, the U.S. military moved ballistic missile defense aircraft and destroyers to the region over the course of last week,” Biden said in a statement Saturday night. “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our military, we helped Israel shoot down almost all incoming drones and missiles.”
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Biden, in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that evening, urged Israel to claim victory for its defensive prowess as the president sought to deter the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East from a broader retaliatory strike. against Iran. Biden, according to a senior administration official, told Netanyahu that the United States would not engage in any offensive action against Iran. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the private conversation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable ability to defend itself and defeat even
unprecedented attacks, sending a clear message to their enemies that they cannot effectively threaten Israel’s security,” Biden said in his statement.
Biden had a call on Sunday with King Abdullah II of Jordan in which the king said any “escalation measures” by Israel would lead to a broader conflict in the region, according to the Royal Court. There was no immediate summary of the call at the White House.
The G7 meeting, Biden said, was intended to “coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.”
The effort to encourage Israel to show restraint reflected ongoing U.S. efforts to limit Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, now in its seventh month, and to do more to protect civilian lives in the territory.
The United States and Israel had been preparing for an attack for days after Iran said it would retaliate for an alleged Israeli attack this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed 12 people, including two top Iranian generals in the Elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized the White House for “leaking to the press” that Biden told Netanyahu to win and not retaliate.
Rubio told CNN’s “State of the Union” that it was “part of the White House’s efforts to appease” those calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
