Biden promises 'iron-clad' support to Israel as threat of Iran attack looms large
Though Biden may be frustrated with Israel PM for not calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, he came out in support of Israel and warned Iran that US will respond aggressively if Israel is attacked
Even as speculation is rife about how Iran is going to retaliate after an attack on its consulate in Syria, US President Joe Biden has vowed to provide ‘iron-clad’ support for Israel.
“We're going to do all we can to protect Israel's security," reiterated Biden, in a conversation with journalists at the White House on Wednesday (April 10), according to media reports.
He added that as he had conveyed to Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, USA's commitment to Israel's security against threats from Iran and its proxies is 'iron-clad'. And he repeated that for good effect - "let me say it again, iron-clad".
War of words
Iran has made it clear that an attack in Damascus was equivalent to an attack on Iran itself. And they have promised to punish the “evil regime”. To which, Israeli minister of foreign affairs Katz hit out at social media by saying that if Teheran attacked from its territory, Israel would react and "attack in Iran".
There is a lot of speculation over how Iran will attack Israel. Will it be a direct attack which many dismiss since Iran lacks the military capability. Some suggest that it can be a cyber attack? While others believe that Israel embassies can be targetted.
Using the Hezbollah
Some experts, however, believe that they will attack via an Iranian proxy like Hezbollah. Already, the Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel across the border from Lebanon almost on a daily basis since October 8.
American experts feel the Hezbollah is more effective than Hamas and has the capability to do significant damage to Israel.
Attack on Iranian consulate
In the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate building in Syria, 13 people had died including senior Iranian military leaders such as Brig-Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of Iran's elite Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon. Israel did not claim responsibility for the attack, but it is widely believed that they were beind the attack.
US and Israeli forces in the region are on high alert since the April 1 attack in Syria.
Biden's growing frustration with Israel
Notably, a week ago, in an interview, Biden had urged Netanyahu to "just call for a ceasefire" in Gaza. The US president has said that he did not agree with the Israeli PM's war strategy.
Especially, after Israel killed seven humanitarian aid workers in Gaza, Biden, who had a tense phone call with Netanyahu, has voiced his growing frustation with Israel’s behaviour in their six-month-old war in Gaza after the Hamas attack on October 7.
Despite Biden's sharp rhetoric against Israel, US officials have been also sending a message to the Iranians that any attack on Israel will be met with an aggressive US response.