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WP Learns About Netanyahu's Plans to Strike Iranian Military Facilities
Israel's prime minister told US President Joe Biden he was prepared to attack Iranian military targets rather than oil or nuclear facilities, and Washington took that as a relief, the newspaper writes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden that he is prepared to attack Iranian military facilities, but not oil or nuclear facilities, the Washington Post reported, citing two officials.
Biden did not support the possibility of an Israeli retaliatory attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, saying Washington would “discuss what Israel would do.”
In a phone call with the US leader last week, Netanyahu said Israel planned to attack Iranian military targets, his interlocutors said.
One official said the response would be careful to avoid the impression of "political interference in the US election."
An Israeli attack on Iran's oil facilities could send energy prices soaring, analysts say, while an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities could erase any remaining red lines, further escalate the conflict and force the United States to intervene directly. Instead, Netanyahu's plan to attack military facilities was met with relief in Washington, the sources said.
Axios and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that oil and nuclear facilities could be targets of Israeli retaliatory strikes against Iran's missile attack. Tehran threatened to attack Israeli oil refineries if there was a response. Later, as reported by the Israeli broadcaster Kan, Iran informed the United States through a third country that it would not respond if Israel limited its attacks to specific targets.
On the evening of October 1, Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel. According to the Defense Ministry (IDF), more than 200 missiles were fired, most of which were shot down by air defenses. Tehran called the attack a response to the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC Major General Abbas Nilforoushan in an IDF airstrike on Beirut on September 27.