United States and Israeli officials have been discussing joint defence plans in the event of Iranian retaliation for the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
While US President Joe Biden has praised Israel’s targeted strike on the Hezbollah general secretary in Beirut on Friday, he has insisted that the US remains determined to prevent a full-blown regional war.
On Sunday Biden, as he boarded the presidential jet Air Force One to Washington, said, “We really have to avoid it.”
He said that he planned to speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel’s intensifying conflict with Hezbollah.
The previous day he said that Nasrallah’s death had brought justice to his thousands of victims.
“Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror. His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese civilians,” he said.
Israeli airplanes demolished Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in the heart of Beirut’s Dahiyeh district on Friday. Jerusalem reportedly notified Washington about the operation only after the jets were in the air.
At least a dozen 2,000-pound bunker-buster bombs were dropped in the strike on Nasrallah, according to the The New York Times, citing munitions experts and an analysis of videos published by the Israel Defence Forces.
The US-manufactured precision munitions can penetrate underground before detonating, reducing the risk of civilian casualties and increasing the likelihood of successfully destroying fortified infrastructure.
The Biden administration is concerned that Iran could strike Israel in response to Nasrallah's assassination, a US official told CNN on Sunday, noting that the countries are preparing for a joint defence. This includes changes in US military posture, although the official did not specify the type of attack expected from Tehran or what moves the military are making.
According to a Pentagon statement on Sunday night, “Should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every necessary measure to defend our people.”
Biden said on Saturday that his administration "fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups."
However, Washington’s ultimate aim “is to de-escalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means,” he added.
“In Gaza, we have been pursuing a deal backed by the UN Security Council for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. In Lebanon, we have been negotiating a deal that would return people safely to their homes in Israel and Southern Lebanon.
“It is time for these deals to close, for the threats to Israel to be removed, and for the broader Middle East region to gain greater stability.”
