This is a major escalation in the Middle East. Joe Biden on Saturday assured Israel of his “unwavering” support in the face of the ongoing Iranian attack, with American forces shooting down drones launched from Iran towards the Jewish state.
“Our commitment to Israel’s security in the face of threats from Iran and its proxies (in the region) is unwavering,” the American president wrote on the X network, posting a photo of a meeting of emergency with his national security team at the White House.
Crisis meeting at the White House
Unusually, the President of the United States, a great ally of Israel, cut short his weekend in Delaware, more than 150 kilometers from the capital Washington, before the announcement of the attack but while the fears of reprisals against Israel announced in recent days by Iran were becoming more and more pressing. This is the first direct attack ever carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the territory of Israel, its sworn enemy.
Returning to the White House at the end of the day, Joe Biden immediately joined the Oval Office to then participate in the crisis meeting in a highly secure room with his main officials, in particular the Minister of Defense Lloyd Austin, the Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA chief William Burns, the White House said.
Shortly before Joe Biden’s first direct reaction, a Defense Department official announced that American forces positioned in the Middle East are currently shooting down “drones launched by Iran and targeting Israel.” “Our forces remain positioned to provide additional defensive support and to protect U.S. forces operating in the region,” the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Trump takes the opportunity to tackle Biden
In the middle of the American presidential campaign, Republican candidate Donald Trump did not fail to criticize his Democratic rival on the international situation. The Iranian attack on Israel shows the “great weakness” of the United States under Democratic President Joe Biden, he castigated during a meeting in Pennsylvania. The former tenant of the White House assured that “this would not have happened if we were in charge”. “You know it, they know it, everyone knows it.”
On April 3, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed that Israel would be “slapped” after the airstrikes attributed to it on the consular annex of the Iranian embassy in Damascus. Seven Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, had been killed. Tehran therefore carried out its threat. To this end, Iran launched a drone attack against the Jewish state on Saturday “from its territory”, announced Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari in a televised address shortly after 11 p.m.