On Friday, US President Joe Biden cautioned Israel against attacking Iran’s oil facilities, stating that he was working to mobilize the international community to avert the growing threat of a full-scale conflict in the Middle East.
However, Donald Trump, his predecessor who is presently running for reelection, even went so far as to say Israel ought to “hit” the nuclear installations of the Islamic republic.
Bennet Netanyahu of Israel “should remember” US backing for Israel, Biden said during his unexpected maiden appearance in the White House briefing room, while considering the next course of action.
When questioned about remarks he made the day before suggesting that Washington was talking to its friend about the possibility of such strikes, Biden told reporters, “If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields.”
The Israelis, Biden continued, “have not concluded how they’re, what they’re going to do” in response to Iran’s massive ballistic missile attack on Israel on Tuesday.
Oil prices had surged following Biden’s statements on Thursday.
Any sustained increase could be detrimental to US Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat running against Republican Donald Trump in an election on November 5th where the cost of living is a significant factor.
While on the campaign trail in North Carolina, Trump gave a significantly more inflammatory assessment of what he believes should be done in reaction to Iran. He made this comment in answer to a question that was given to Biden this week regarding the prospect that Israel could target Iran’s nuclear program.
“What do you think about Iran? Would you hit Iran?” they questioned him. ‘As long as they don’t hit the nuclear things,’ he says. That’s what you’re trying to hit, correct? Before a sizable US military installation in Fayetteville, Trump spoke at a town hall-style gathering.
Biden “Mistaken that one,” declared Trump.
“When they asked him that question, the answer should have been, hit the nuclear first, and worry about the rest later,” Trump said.
Regarding the recent spike in tensions in the Middle East, Trump has not spoken anything. But this week, he made a harsh remark in which he blamed Biden and Harris for the situation.
“Waiting for what will happen.”
Reporters were taken aback when Biden showed up at the storied briefing room podium without prior notice.
It occurs during a tense period as Obama gets ready to leave office, with political criticism at home over his handling of a recent hurricane that hit the US southeast and the Middle East crisis reaching a boiling point.
As Israel bombs Lebanon in an attempt to destroy the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah, Biden claimed he was doing everything in his power to prevent a full-scale conflict in the Middle East.
“The main thing we can do is try to rally the rest of the world and our allies into participating… to tamp this down,” he stated to reporters.
“But when you have (Iranian) proxies as irrational as Hezbollah and the Huthis (of Yemen)… it’s a hard thing to determine.”
But Biden was not so kind to Netanyahu, with whom he has had a tense relationship as he tries to control Israel’s reaction to the Hamas attacks on October 7.
The Israeli prime minister has disregarded Biden’s repeated requests for moderation about Israel’s war in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 40,000 Palestinians, as well as Lebanon.
Biden avoided a question on whether he believed Netanyahu was dragging back on signing a Middle East peace accord in a bid to influence the US presidential race.
“I have done more for Israel than any administration has. Not one, not one, not one. And I believe Bibi need to keep that in mind,” Biden remarked.
“And whether he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know, but I’m not counting on that.”
After the Iranian attack, which featured about 200 missiles, Biden said he had not spoken to Netanyahu yet, but he noted that their teams were in “constant contact.”
“They’re not going to make a decision immediately, and so we’re going to wait to see when they want to talk,” the president stated.
Iran claimed that its strike was a reprisal for the murder of Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah.
Hezbollah began firing missiles into Israel shortly after the strikes on October 7, 2023.
