According to reports, Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a call on Saturday that the United States would not support an Israeli counterattack against Iran.

“Biden and his senior advisers are highly concerned an Israeli response to Iran’s attack on Israel would lead to a regional war with catastrophic consequences,” Axios reports.

Biden’s comments follow Iran attacking Israel with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday.

Iran’s attack followed a suspected Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

Biden reportedly told Netanyahu: “You got a win. Take the win.”

Per Axios:

Iran launched attack drones and missiles against Israel on Saturday night local time in retaliation for an airstrike in Syria that killed a top Iranian general.

“More than 200 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were fired from Iran,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said. Most of the threats were intercepted outside of Israeli airspace, he said.

A U.S. defense official earlier said U.S. forces in the region shot down Iranian-launched drones targeting Israel.

Biden told Netanyahu the joint defensive efforts by Israel, the U.S. and other countries in the region led to the failure of the Iranian attack, according to the White House official.

“You got a win. Take the win,” Biden told Netanyahu, according to the official.

The official said that when Biden told Netanyahu that the U.S. will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran and will not support such operations, Netanyahu said he understood.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke on Saturday with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant and asked that Israel notify the U.S. ahead of any response against Iran, a senior Israeli official said.

Read Joe Biden’s full statement on Iran’s attack against Israel below:

A Statement from President Joe Biden on Iran’s Attacks against the State of Israel.

Daily Mail reports:

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a separate statement that U.S. forces ‘intercepted dozens of missiles and UAVs en route to Israel, launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.’

The ballistic missiles intercepted by the US were shot down by warships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the officials said.

The US had sent the war ship Bataan as well as two support ships with 2,500 Marines onboard into the Eastern Mediterranean as part of their response.

US Congressional sources said the amphibious war ship Bataan was leading a US naval task force in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Bataan has two support ships and together they have about 2,500 Marines onboard. The US also has several guided missile destroyers including the Carney in the area.

US fighter jets were also brought in as part of the response, and shot down drones launched towards Israel.

The Iranian foreign ministry released a statement saying the strikes carried out were in ‘exercise of its inherent right of self-defense’.

It said: ‘The Islamic Republic of Iran would not hesitate to take further necessary defensive measures to protect its legitimate interests against any act of military aggression or unlawful use of force.’

 

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