We’ll be discussing with the Israelis what they’re going to do, but all seven of us (G7 nations) agree that they have a right to respond. Still, they should respond proportionally,” Joe Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One.
Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in a move that Biden previously described as “ineffective.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that Iran would pay for the attack.
Some analysts said Israel’s response would likely be sharper this time, suggesting it could target Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities.
Joe Biden told reporters that more sanctions would be imposed on Iran and said he would speak soon with Netanyahu.
Iran is way off course,” he said.
The Biden administration over the next few days will focus its engagements with the Israelis to try to align its perspectives on any potential response to the Iranian attack on Israel, U.S. Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell said.
He described the current situation in the Middle East as “a moment of peril”.
“There is a recognition that the region is really on a knife’s edge and real concerns about an even broader escalation or a continuing one,” said Campbell, speaking at a virtual event by DC-based think-tank Carnegie Endowment.