President Joe Biden expressed his devotion to Israel a day before Iran made good on its promise that it will punish Israel for the April 1 airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria that killed seven officers of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, including two of its top generals.
When asked what his message to Iran was, he warned them not to proceed with the attack. "Don't," Biden said on Friday, April 12. "We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help to defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed." He added that he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come "sooner, rather than later."
True enough, Iran launched missile and drone strikes targeting Israel on Saturday, April 13.
Meanwhile, an anonymous official said the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is sending additional troops and equipment to sites in the Middle East to "bolster regional deterrence efforts and increase force protection." The DoD did not specify the number or type of assets deployed, but according to Wall Street Journal, two destroyers, at least one armed with the Aegis missile defense system, have been repositioned in the area.
U.S. Central Command head General Michael Kurilla has extended his stay in Israel, reports indicated. Kurilla arrived on Thursday, April 11, to coordinate defense against a potential Iranian strike.
Meanwhile, several countries in the region where the U.S. has bases or treaty rights have reportedly told Washington that it can't use them to strike Iran. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Kuwait have denied the use of their territory and airspace so far, according to the Middle East Eye.
Also, India, France, Poland and Russia have warned their citizens against travel to the region. Germany on Friday called on its citizens to leave Iran.
Earlier, White House spokesperson John Kirby said the reportedly imminent attack by Iran on Israel was a real and viable threat, but gave no details about any possible timing. Kirby said the U.S. was looking at its own force posture in the region in light of Tehran's threat and was watching the situation very closely.
Israel claims intercepting missiles and drones from Iran
The Israel military reported that it has intercepted dozens of missiles and drones coming from Iran. Several Iranian missiles reportedly fell inside Israeli territory, causing minor damage to a military base. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said early Sunday, local time that a young girl was injured in the attack. According to Hagari, the attack was a "major escalation."
The IDF spokesman also reported that Iran has fired about 200 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles toward Israel. "Together with our allies and partners, we are operating at full force to defend the State of Israel and the people of Israel," Hagari told reporters.
The U.S. shot down some of the Iranian drones, U.S. officials confirmed Saturday evening. "At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week," Biden said in a statement. "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." (Related: Report: U.S. may intervene if Iran directly attacks Israel.)
Biden said he would convene the Group of Seven (G7) advanced democracies on Sunday, April 14, to develop a "united diplomatic response" to Iran's attack. Biden said he told Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on a call that Israel had "demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks."
Britain also deployed fighter jets to the region to help intercept any airborne attacks. "In response to increased Iranian threats and the growing risk of escalation in the Middle East, the U.K. government has been working with partners across the region to encourage de-escalation and prevent further attacks," it said on its official website. "We have moved several additional Royal Air Force jets and air refueling tankers to the region. These will bolster Operation Shader, which is the U.K.'s existing counter-Daesh operation in Iraq and Syria. In addition, these U.K. jets will intercept any airborne attacks within range of our existing missions, as required."
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Watch the video below that talks about Iran's aerial attack on Israel.
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