The White House on Monday said a highly-anticipated potential response from Iran or its proxy groups on Israel for the killing of a Hamas leader could come “this week” and that the U.S. is preparing for what could be a “significant set of attacks.”
“We share the same concerns and expectations that our Israeli counterparts have with respect to potential timing here – could be this week,” John Kirby, a spokesperson for national security at the White House, told reporters on a call on Monday. “We're continuing to watch it very, very closely.”
Asked what such a potential response could look like, Kirby said it is “difficult to ascertain at this particular time,” but emphasized that the U.S. is ready to help defend Israel.
“We have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks, which is why, again, we have increased our force posture and capabilities in the region even in just the last few days,” Kirby said.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon said it was moving U.S. resources to the region in a bid to “increase support for the defense of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies.”
At the same time, Kirby stressed that the U.S. is still hoping it can help cool tensions through diplomacy and avoid a response that plunges the region further into conflict. In his latest bid to push for such a path, President Joe Biden on Monday held a call with the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany after speaking with several leaders in the Middle East last week.
“We expressed our support for the defense of Israel against Iranian aggression and against attacks by Iran-backed terrorist groups,” a joint statement from the U.S. and four European countries following Monday’s call read. “We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place.”
Asked if the European countries are expected to participate in a military response to defend Israel should an attack take place, Kirby said he wouldn’t speak for other nations but noted that some allies on the continent helped defend the country when Iran attacked in April.
The world has been bracing for a potential attack from Iran or its affiliated groups in the Middle East in response to the killings of a Hezbollah commander in Beirut and Hamas leader in the Iranian capital of Tehran.
Israel has claimed responsibility for the strike that killed the Hezbollah official in Lebanon, where the Iranian-backed militant group is based. It has not said it carried out the strike in Tehran that killed the Palestinian militant group’s political leader but both Hamas and Iran have blamed Israel and pledged revenge. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei referred to it as his country’s “duty.”
Iran carried out an unprecedented direct strike on Israel in April in response to Israel killing two Iranian generals in Damascus. The U.S. and other countries helped defend Israel and the exchange of strikes avoided escalating into a wider conflict as the U.S. urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to be cautious.
Kirby on Monday said the president is “confident that we have the capability available” to defend Israel again.
It comes as the U.S., along with Qatar and Egypt, continue to push to put into place the first stage of a multi-phase plan laid out by Biden in May that ultimately hopes to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. All three countries last week urged Hamas and Israel to resume negotiations on Thursday, adding they will provide a final bridging proposal that closes remaining gaps “if necessary.”