WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Saturday condemned attacks from Iran on military facilities in Israel, vowing to meet with G-7 leaders to coordinate a diplomatic response.
Biden cut short a weekend trip to Delaware, returning to the White House on Saturday afternoon to meet with advisers in the Situation Room about the attack. The United States confirmed U.S. forces and facilities had not been hit.
The President spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, vowing to coordinate a response after speaking to leaders of the G7.
“Tomorrow, I will convene my fellow G7 leaders to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack,” he said.
In a statement on Saturday, Biden said the United States had shot down incoming drones and missiles from Iran at this direction.
“Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles,” he said.
In the call, Biden told Netanyahu the United States will not support or participate in any Israeli counterattack, a senior White House official told Fwrd Axis News.
U.S. officials say Biden and his advisers are Netanyahu is trying to drag the U.S. more deeply into a broader conflict, according to three people familiar with his comments.
NBC News was the first to report Biden’s reported comments.
“And while we have not seen attacks on our forces or facilities today, we will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people,” Biden said.
The President met with his advisers including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns, Director of National Intelligence Avril Hines, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and other officials, the White House said.
The attack from Iran came just one day after Biden warned an attack would come as soon as the weekend, warning Iran against conducting the attack.
“We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” Biden said Friday.
