US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a call on Wednesday amid tensions with Iran, while Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant promised an Israeli strike against Iran would be “lethal, precise and surprising”.
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The 30-minute call was the first known chat for Biden and Netanyahu since August and coincides with a sharp escalation of Israel’s conflict with Iran and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah, but with no sign of an imminent ceasefire to end the conflict with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.
The call was “direct and very productive”, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, while acknowledging the two leaders have disagreements and are open about them.
The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel’s response to a missile attack last week that Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel’s military escalation in Lebanon. The Iranian attack ultimately killed no one in Israel.
After describing Iran’s October 1 missile attack as a failure, Gallant said in a video issued by his office after the Biden-Netanyahu call had ended: “Whoever attacks us will be hurt and will pay a price. Our attack will be deadly, precise and above all surprising, they will not understand what happened and how it happened, they will see the results.”
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Iran launches missile attack on Israel, Netanyahu vows retribution
Iran launches missile attack on Israel, Netanyahu vows retribution
Netanyahu has promised that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with vast destruction, raising fears of a wider war in the oil-producing region which could draw in the US.