Washington:

Israel has assured the White House that a planned retaliatory attack on Iran won’t target nuclear or oil facilities, US media reported Monday.

Israel has vowed to counterattack after Iran fired ballistic missiles at the country on October 1, launched in response to Israel’s killing of Tehran-aligned militant leaders in the region, along with a general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Citing unnamed US officials, the Washington Post said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reassured the White House that a counterstrike it is contemplating would target only military sites.

The Wall Street Journal, also citing US officials speaking on condition of anonymity, said the pledge came in a call between US President Joe Biden and Netanyahu last week, as well as in conversations in recent days between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant.

The plan “was met with relief in Washington,” the Washington Post reported.

Biden has warned Israel against striking Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities in order to avoid a further expansion of regional war and amid worries of a spike in global energy prices.

The attack was Iran’s second direct attack on Israel after missile and drone fire in April, carried out in response to an air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus that is attributed to Israel.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Iran has issued a stark warning to its Arab neighbours and US allies in the Gulf, threatening severe retaliation if their territories or airspace are used to aid Israel in any potential attacks on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported. The warning was conveyed through secret diplomatic channels, targeting oil-rich states like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Qatar, all of which host US military forces, the WSJ report claimed. 

This comes after Israel vowed a harsh reprisal against Tehran, following an Iranian ballistic missile barrage that targeted Israel earlier this month. Israeli officials, outraged by the attack, have pushed for retaliatory strikes on Iran’s nuclear or oil infrastructure, which they view as critical to undermining Tehran’s aggressive military posture. Iran has pledged to strike back, threatening Israel’s civilian infrastructure as well as Arab states that might facilitate an Israeli or US-led attack.

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According to WSJ, these nations have communicated to the Biden administration their unwillingness to be dragged into a broader conflict by allowing their military infrastructure or airspace to be used in strikes against Iran. Officials in these energy-rich Gulf states fear that their oil facilities, traditionally seen as under US protection, could become prime targets in the event of escalated hostilities. With one of the world’s highest concentrations of American troops stationed in the region, any military action could also put US forces at significant risk.

One of the major concerns for the Gulf states is the potential impact on the global oil market if conflict escalates. A full-blown war between Israel and Iran could disrupt oil exports passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies. Any disruption in the flow of oil could lead to skyrocketing energy prices, destabilizing not just the region but global markets as well. According to the WSJ, Arab leaders, including those from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, pledged to avoid any involvement in potential military strikes against Iran, fearing the repercussions on their oil infrastructure.

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In response to the escalating tensions, the US imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil and petrochemical industries, specifically targeting Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet” of ships that have been involved in circumventing sanctions. The US Treasury and State Departments designated multiple companies and vessels involved in the transportation of Iranian petroleum, part of a broader effort to cut off the financial lifelines supporting Iran’s missile programs and regional militias.

“Today’s sanctions target Iranian efforts to channel revenues from its energy industry to finance deadly and disruptive activity, including the development of its nuclear program and ballistic missile proliferation,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

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This growing tension is complicating the already fragile alliances between Arab states and Israel. While these nations share a common desire to counter Iran’s influence, they are wary of becoming embroiled in a direct military confrontation that could engulf the entire region. Some Arab countries, like Jordan, have previously cooperated with Israel and the US by shooting down Iranian projectiles headed for Israel earlier in the year. However, backing a full-scale Israeli strike on Iranian soil is seen as a much more dangerous proposition.

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S., on October 4, 2024
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump said Friday (October 4, 2024) he believes Israel should strike Iran’s nuclear facilities in response to the Islamic republic’s recent missile barrage.

The former president, speaking at a campaign event in North Carolina, referred to a question posed to Democratic President Joe Biden this week about the possibility of Israel targeting Iran’s nuclear program.

“They asked him, what do you think about Iran, would you hit Iran? And he goes, ‘As long as they don’t hit the nuclear stuff.’ That’s the thing you want to hit, right?” Mr. Trump told a town hall style event in Fayetteville, near a major U.S. military base.

Mr. Biden was asked on Wednesday whether he would support strikes against Iranian nuclear sites and the U.S. president told reporters: “The answer is no.”

“I think he’s got that one wrong,” Mr. Trump said Friday, in response to a participant’s question about the issue. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to hit? I mean, it’s the biggest risk we have, nuclear weapons,” he said.

“When they asked him that question, the answer should have been, hit the nuclear first, and worry about the rest later,” Mr. Trump added.

“If they’re going to do it, they’re going to do it. But we’ll find out whatever their plans are.”

Mr. Biden on Wednesday expressed his opposition to such strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, in response to the firing of nearly 200 Iranian missiles towards Israel.

“We’ll be discussing with the Israelis what they’re going to do,” he said, adding that all G7 members agree Israel has “a right to respond, but they should respond in proportion.”

Mr. Trump, locked in a tooth-and-nail presidential election battle with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has spoken little about the recent escalation in tensions in the Middle East.

He issued a scathing statement this week, holding Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris responsible for the crisis.

Washington:

Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump said Friday he believes Israel should strike Iran’s nuclear facilities in response to the Islamic republic’s recent missile barrage.

The former president, speaking at a campaign event in North Carolina, referred to a question posed to Democratic President Joe Biden this week about the possibility of Israel targeting Iran’s nuclear program.

“They asked him, what do you think about Iran, would you hit Iran? And he goes, ‘As long as they don’t hit the nuclear stuff.’ That’s the thing you want to hit, right?” Trump told a town hall style event in Fayetteville, near a major US military base.

Biden was asked on Wednesday whether he would support strikes against Iranian nuclear sites and the US president told reporters: “The answer is no.”

“I think he’s got that one wrong,” Trump said Friday, in response to a participant’s question about the issue. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to hit? I mean, it’s the biggest risk we have, nuclear weapons,” he said.

“When they asked him that question, the answer should have been, hit the nuclear first, and worry about the rest later,” Trump added.

“If they’re going to do it, they’re going to do it. But we’ll find out whatever their plans are.”

Biden on Wednesday expressed his opposition to such strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, in response to the firing of nearly 200 Iranian missiles towards Israel.

“We’ll be discussing with the Israelis what they’re going to do,” he said, adding that all G7 members agree Israel has “a right to respond, but they should respond in proportion.”

Trump, locked in a tooth-and-nail presidential election battle with US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has spoken little about the recent escalation in tensions in the Middle East.

He issued a scathing statement this week, holding Biden and Harris responsible for the crisis.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
| Photo Credit: AP

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday (October 2, 2024) called for a decisive strike to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities after the Islamic republic fired a barrage of missiles at Israel.

“We must act now to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to fatally cripple this terrorist regime,” Mr. Bennett wrote on X just hours after the attack on Israel on Tuesday.

Follow Israel-Iran war LIVE updates on October 2

“We have the justification. We have the tools. Now that Hezbollah and Hamas are paralysed, Iran stands exposed,” wrote Mr. Bennett.

In a separate statement, Israel’s main opposition leader Yair Lapid said Iran should pay a “significant and heavy price” for the attack.

“Tehran knows that Israel is coming. The response needs to be tough and it should send an unequivocal message to the terror axis in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza and in Iran itself,” said Mr. Lapid, who also briefly served as premier in 2022.

Iran has been accused of seeking to develop atomic weapons, though the Islamic republic insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but has never admitted so.

Tuesday’s attack was Iran’s second direct strike on Israel after a missile and drone attack in April in response to a deadly Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

While Iran-backed groups across the region had already been drawn into the Gaza war, sparked by Palestinian group Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, Tehran has largely refrained from direct attacks on its regional arch-enemy.

Mr. Bennett was appointed prime minister after elections in 2021 and oversaw a broad political coalition but he only manged to stay in office for a year.

Despite announcing his retirement in June 2022, there have been indications Mr. Bennett might be seeking a return to politics.

In July, Gideon Saar — a justice minister under Bennett who this week joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition — said he held discussions with Bennett about his desire to return to politics.

A poll taken by Israeli newspaper Maariv this week showed that if Mr. Bennett did decide to return, a party under his leadership would garner almost as many votes as Mr. Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party.