Israel has assured the United States that it will not target Iranian nuclear or oil facilities, according to two senior Biden administration officials speaking to The Associated Press.
The two officials said the deployment of a high-altitude air defense battery to Israel, with about 100 troops to operate it, has eased some of Israel’s concerns about possible Iranian retaliation.
The Pentagon announced on Sunday the deployment of the equipment to help bolster Israel’s air defenses in the wake of Iran’s ballistic missile attacks on Israel in April and October, a process authorized by President Joe Biden.
However, U.S. officials cautioned that Israel’s assurances are not ironclad and that circumstances could change, as has happened in the past.
US officials were recently told by their Israeli counterparts that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would welcome a US- and French-led initiative for a temporary cease-fire in Lebanon, but Israel launched an airstrike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah two days later.
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that it noted “the views of the United States” but decided to make “final decisions based on Israel’s national interests.”
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned their Israeli counterparts in a letter dated Sunday that they must increase the amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza over the next 30 days.
Otherwise, they warned, Israel risks losing access to US arms financing.
The Middle East has been bracing for an expected Israeli response after Iran launched about 180 ballistic missiles on Oct. 1, which the United States helped repel.
Israel’s offensive against Iran-backed Hamas militants in Gaza has expanded into a ground invasion of Lebanon targeting the Shiite movement Hezbollah, which has been firing at Israel since the Gaza conflict began.
Biden has said he would not support an Israeli retaliatory strike on sites linked to Tehran’s nuclear program and has urged Israel to consider alternatives to targeting Iran’s oil sector.
A strike of this kind could roil the global oil market and send prices soaring just ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
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