New York [US], October 15: The Washington Post on October 14 quoted two anonymous officials as saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the administration of US President Joe Biden that he was ready to attack military facilities instead of oil or nuclear facilities in Iran.
In the two weeks since Iran's latest missile attack on Israel on October 1, the second direct attack in six months, the Middle East has been bracing for Israel's promised retaliation, concerned that the two countries' decades-long covert war could explode into a direct military confrontation.
The Middle East escalation comes at a politically tense time for Washington, less than a month before the US presidential election. President Biden has said he would not support an Israeli strike on nuclear-related sites.
When Biden and Netanyahu spoke by phone on Oct. 9, Netanyahu said he was planning to target military infrastructure in Iran, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the matter. Netanyahu's office and the White House had no immediate comment.
According to the official familiar with the matter, Israel's retaliation will be calibrated to avoid the perception of "political interference in the US election," signaling that Netanyahu understands the scale of the Israeli attack's potential to reshape the US presidential race.
An Israeli attack on Iranian oil facilities could send energy prices soaring, while an attack on Tehran's nuclear research program could erase any remaining red lines governing the Israel-Iran conflict, leading to further escalation and risking a more direct US military role, according to analysts, according to The Washington Post.
Accordingly, Mr. Netanyahu's statement that he would attack military sites instead of Iran's oil or nuclear facilities, as Israel did after Iran's attack in April, has made Washington feel relieved.
The US official said that Netanyahu was in a "more moderate position" during the October 9 call than he had been in the past. Both officials said Netanyahu's apparent softening of stance influenced President Biden's decision to send the powerful THAAD missile defense system to Israel.
After the phone call on October 9, President Biden is more inclined to send THAAD to Israel, according to the US official.
On October 13, the Pentagon announced that it was deploying THAAD to Israel, along with about 100 US troops. THAAD, which is expected to arrive in Israel in the coming days, "underscores the United States' ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel," according to a statement from the Pentagon.
The official familiar with the matter said an Israeli strike on Iran would be carried out before the November 5 US presidential election because a lack of action could be interpreted by Iran as a sign of weakness. "This would be one of a series of responses," the official stressed.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper