US seeks to stop worsening situation in Middle East

The United States discussed its role in assisting Israel in thwarting an air attack by Iran on Sunday. President Joe Biden also met with leaders from other countries to prevent the situation from getting worse in the region and to work together to show disapproval of Iran.

The US helped Israel stop many drones and missiles from Iran. This was the first time the US directly attacked Israel. Israeli officials said that almost all of the weapons coming towards them were destroyed before they could cause much harm.

American officials said that even though a lot of the missiles were stopped, Iran wanted to cause a lot of damage and hurt people. They also said that if the missiles had hit their targets, the situation in the Middle East would have gotten much worse and out of control. US leaders said Biden told Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, that America won’t join any attack on Iran. Biden also warned Netanyahu to be careful and think about the dangers of making things worse.

The United States wants Israel to hold back and not fight so much against Hamas in Gaza. They also want Israel to make sure civilians in the area are kept safe. This is part of ongoing efforts to control the fighting between Israel and Hamas, which has been going on for seven months.

The US and its friends were getting ready for this attack for a few days. The launches were even more powerful than expected, according to officials who cannot talk about it publicly. They spoke on the condition that their names would not be shared.

Officials said that at one time, Iran had launched at least 100 missiles towards Israel, and they were close to reaching their target. Biden and some important people watched the firings and interception attempts happening live in the White House Situation Room. The officials were happy when they saw that the missile defence had worked.

A high-ranking US military leader said that American planes destroyed more than 70 drones and cruise missiles, and US ships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea took down between four and six ballistic missiles. Also, a US missile system in Iraq shot down one more missile.

“I told the US military to send planes and ships to help protect Israel. They arrived in the region last week,” Biden said in a statement on Saturday night. “Because of our troops and their great skills, we were able to help Israel stop almost all of the drones and missiles coming towards them. ”

Government officials said the phone call showed that even though there are disagreements about the war in Gaza, the US is very committed to defending Israel. They said the commitment is very strong. I would do the same thing again if I had to.

The officials said Iran didn’t plan for Israel and the US to have time to get ready for an attack, but they did use the time it took for Iran to get ready to plan how to respond. The officials said Iran told the US during the attack on Saturday that what they saw was their complete response. The message was sent through the Swiss government because the two countries don’t have direct diplomatic ties.

On Saturday evening, Biden talked to Netanyahu and told him to show off Israel’s strong defense skills instead of attacking Iran. Biden wants to convince Israel to not make a bigger strike against Iran.

Biden said that Israel did a great job at defending itself from attacks and showed that its enemies can’t threaten its security.

Biden talked to Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Sunday. The king said that if Israel takes actions that make the situation worse, it could lead to a bigger conflict in the region. This information was from the Royal Court. The White House talked about the situation in Gaza and the leaders agreed to work together to end the crisis as soon as they can.

The president talked with some US soldiers who helped shoot down the Iranian drones.

After the G7 video call on Sunday, the leaders strongly condemned Iran’s direct attack on Israel. They said they fully support Israel and are committed to its security.

The US, Italy, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, and Canada say that Iran’s actions are making the region unstable and could lead to more fighting. They are ready to take more action to stop Iran from making things worse.

A top US government official said that some countries talked about calling Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist group and imposing more penalties on Tehran, but they didn’t make a final decision yet.

The G7 leaders talked about the war between Israel and Hamas and said they will work together to stop the fighting in Gaza. They also want to help free the hostages held by Hamas and give more aid to Palestinians who need it.

Robert Wood from the US said at a meeting on Sunday that the US strongly supports Israel’s defense.

“In the next few days, the United States will talk with other countries to find more ways to make Iran take responsibility at the United Nations,” Wood said, asking for the Security Council to quickly criticize the Iranian attack.

The US and Israel were getting ready for an attack because Iran had said it would strike back.