US President Biden expected to speak to Netanyahu, Iran in focus
US President Joe Biden is expected to speak on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, talks set to include discussion of any plans to strike Iran, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel's response to a missile attack from Iran last week that Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel's military escalation in Lebanon. The Iranian attack ultimately killed no one in Israel and Washington called it ineffective.
Netanyahu has promised that arch foe Iran would 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 United States.
Israel's retaliation will be a key subject of the call, with Washington hoping to weigh in on whether the response is appropriate, a separate person briefed on the discussions said.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Biden said last Friday he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields if he were in Israel's shoes, adding he thought Israel had not concluded how to respond to Iran. Last week, he also said he would not support Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites.
Israel has faced calls to agree a ceasefire deal in Gaza and Lebanon by the United States and other allies but has said it will continue its military operations until Israelis are safe.
Biden and Netanyahu are also expected to discuss the conflicts with Hamas in Gaza and with Hezbollah in Lebanon, along with other topics.
Biden and his aides have spoken of a possible call with Netanyahu since the end of September. It would be their first known talks since August, amid a sharp escalation of the conflict with both Hezbollah and Iran.
Israel says it is defending itself after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 and taking 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies, and from attacks by other militants including Hezbollah who support Hamas.
The United States has said it supports Israel going after Iran-backed targets like Hezbollah and Hamas.
But Israel and Netanyahu in particular have faced widespread condemnation over the nearly 42,000 Palestinians killed in the Gaza war, according to the local Palestinian health ministry, and the deaths of over 2,000 people in Lebanon.
Biden and Netanyahu have had sharp differences over the conduct of the war in recent months, setting up a potentially tense encounter.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant cancelled a Wednesday visit to the Pentagon, the Pentagon said, as Israeli media reported Netanyahu wanted first to speak with Biden.
About three million people in Gaza and Lebanon have been displaced by Israel's military campaigns, according to Palestinian and Lebanese officials, and Gaza is also facing a humanitarian crisis with a lack of food and fresh water.
