Israel assures US it won't strike Iranian nuclear or oil sites: US officials

People walk along a road between the rubble of destroyed buildings in Khan Yunis. Pics/AFP

The Biden administration believes it has won assurances from Israel that it will not hit Iranian nuclear or oil sites as it looks to strike back following Iran's missile barrage earlier this month, two US officials said Tuesday. The administration also believes that sending a US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence battery to Israel and roughly 100 soldiers to operate it has eased some of Israel's concerns about possible Iranian retaliation and general security issues.

The Pentagon on Sunday announced the THAAD deployment to help bolster Israel's air defences following Iran's ballistic missile attacks on Israel in April and October, saying it was authorized at the direction of President Joe Biden. However, the US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic discussions, cautioned that Israel's assurances are not ironclad and that circumstances could change.

The officials also noted that Israel's track record on fulfilling pledges in the past is mixed and has often reflected domestic Israeli politics that have upended Washington's expectations. The most recent example of that was last month, when US officials were told by their Israeli counterparts that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would welcome a US- and French-led temporary cease-fire initiative in Lebanon only to see Israel launch a massive airstrike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah two days later.

Netanyahu's office said in a statement that 'we listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interests'. Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned their Israeli counterparts in a letter dated Sunday that it must increase the amount of humanitarian aid being allowed into Gaza within the next 30 days or Israel could risk losing access to US weapons funding.

The Middle East has been bracing for an expected response from Israel after Iran launched roughly 180 ballistic missiles on Oct 1, which the United States helped to fend off. The tit-for-tat strikes and uncertainty about whether Israel might strike strategically important energy and nuclear sites in Iran have raised fears about escalation into an all-out regional war. Israel's offensive against Iranian-backed Hamas militants in Gaza has expanded into a ground invasion of Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, another Iranian proxy that has been firing into Israel since the conflict in Gaza started a year ago in solidarity with Hamas.

Biden has said he would not support a retaliatory Israeli strike on sites related to Tehran's nuclear programme and urged Israel to consider alternatives to hitting Iran's oil sector. Such a strike could affect the global oil market and boost pump prices just ahead of the US presidential election. Biden and Netanyahu spoke by phone last week for the first time in seven weeks, while Defense Secretary Austin has been speaking regularly with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant.

The Pentagon said in a readout of a call from Sunday that Austin reaffirmed US support for Israel's security but urged it to ensure protections for UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, shift from military operations to a diplomatic solution and 'raised concern for the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and stressed that steps must be taken soon to address it'.

The White House National Security Council declined to confirm that Netanyahu offered Biden any assurances about targets. 'Our commitment to Israel's defense is ironclad,' the White House National Security Council said in a statement. 'We will not discuss private diplomatic discussions and would refer you to the Israeli government to speak to their own potential military operations.'

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