Washington [US], October 5: AFP on October 5 quoted former US President Donald Trump as saying that Israel should attack Iran's nuclear facilities in response to Tehran's massive missile attack on October 1.
The remarks came at a campaign rally in North Carolina as Mr Trump recalled how President Joe Biden responded to a question about the possibility of Israel attacking Iran's nuclear programme .
"They asked Biden, what do you think about Iran, would you attack Iran? And he said as long as [Israel] doesn't attack the nuclear facility. That's what you want to attack, right?" Trump said.
Earlier on October 2, President Biden was asked by reporters if he supported attacking Iran's nuclear facilities and he said "the answer is no".
"When they asked him that question, the answer should have been, nuke first, and worry about the rest later. If [Israel] is going to do it, they're going to do it. But we're going to find out what [Israel's] plans are," Trump said.
Meanwhile, The Times of Israel quoted President Biden as saying that Israel has not decided how to respond to Iran's missile attack, but said that Israel should avoid attacking Iranian oil facilities.
"If I were in their position, I would think of other alternatives other than attacking the oil fields," he said at a press conference at the White House on October 4.
The comments came a day after he said the idea of an Israeli attack on Iranian oil sites was "under discussion", sending oil prices soaring amid fears of a sudden shock to global supplies.
Meanwhile, The Guardian newspaper on October 5 quoted a US State Department official as saying that Israel has not assured the US that it will not consider attacking Iran's nuclear facilities.
Asked if Israel had assured the Biden administration that Iran's nuclear sites would not be discussed, the official said, "We hope and expect to see wisdom and strength, but as you know, there are no guarantees."
The official added that it was "hard to say" whether Israel would use the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks (October 7) to respond to Iran's massive ballistic missile attack.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper