Netanyahu ‘promises Biden’ he will limit attack on Iran to military targets

Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told US president Joe Biden that Israel would respond to the Iranian attack by striking military targets but sparing nuclear and oil facilities, suggesting a limited counterstrike to prevent a wider war in the Middle East.

Mr Netanyahu and Mr Biden discussed a potential Israeli response to Iran’s 1 October attack during their first call in over a month last week as the Israeli military expanded its ground invasion into south Lebanon, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Israel’s assurance of not targeting Iran’s nuclear and oil facilities was a promise sought by the White House, WSJ reported, quoting US officials.

Tehran targeted Israeli military bases and the headquarters of the spy agency Mossad with a salvo of around 200 ballistic missiles in retaliation for the assassination, blamed on Israel, of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and the assault against Lebanon which killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah along with, reportedly, some Iranian military officers late last month.

Hamas and Hezbollah are allied with Iran.

Mr Biden previously said he would not support an attack on Iranian nuclear sites and oil facilities.

An Israeli strike on Iran was inevitable as the Netanyahu government wanted to show strength and would be carried out before the US presidential election on 5 November, the Washington Post reported, citing two unnamed officials familiar with the matter. “It will be one in a series of responses,” one official said.

The official said Israel’s retaliatory action would be calibrated to avoid the perception of “political interference in the US elections”.

Another US official told the paper that the Israeli prime minister was in a “more moderated place” in that discussion with Mr Biden than he had previously been amid a rift between the two leaders over Israel's continued assault on Lebanon. The Israeli assault has killed over 2,300 people in Lebanon in less than a month and wounded 10,700, according to the country’s health ministry.

Mr Netanyahu’s softened stance was factored in the decision by the Biden administration to send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery to Israel, along with American troops needed to operate it, in an effort to bolster Israel’s air defences.

Mr Biden said over the weekend that he agreed to deploy the Thaad battery “to defend Israel", without providing further details.

"We listen to the opinions of the US, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interests," Mr Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

Several Gulf countries have lobbied Washington to stop Israel from attacking Iran’s oil facilities fearing that Tehran’s allies could target their own oil facilities if the conflict escalated.

Meanwhile, Australia warned its citizens against travelling to Israel and urged anyone already there to leave while commercial flights remained available.

“The Australian government has serious concerns the security situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories could deteriorate rapidly,” foreign minister Penny Wong said on Monday.

The US embassy in Lebanon strongly encouraged its citizens to leave immediately, warning that additional flights laid on by the government to help Americans leave since 27 September would not continue indefinitely.