Israel assures US it will not strike Iran’s oil and nuclear facilities

Israel has assured the Biden administration that a planned attack on Iran won’t target nuclear and oil facilities, according to US officials.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits an Israeli training base targeted by a deadly Hezbollah drone strike. Picture: GPO

Israel has assured the Biden administration that a planned retaliatory attack on Iran won’t target nuclear and oil facilities, according to US officials, a promise sought by the White House to head off further Middle East escalation and to avoid a potential oil-price increase.

The pledges came in a call between President Joe Biden and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as in conversations in recent days between Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, officials said.

Israel has suggested it would aim for military or intelligence targets, the officials said, but has stopped short of providing the US a list of specific targets. The planned attack is a response to Iran firing 180 missiles at Israel on October 1 after an Israeli airstrike that killed Lebanese militia Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

“We listen to the opinion of the US, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interests,” Mr Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

Israel’s response, which is likely to come before the November 5 US presidential election, could resemble a previous attack in April that hit an Iranian military base shortly after Tehran launched 300 missiles and drones at Israeli territory.

But Israeli officials have said that their operation could hit unexpected targets. It is also likely to be more severe, analysts said.

For the White House, limiting the Israeli counterattack in hopes of heading off a wider Middle East war that could further draw in US forces has been a critical goal with less than a month before the presidential election.

The National Security Council, Defence Department and Israeli embassy in Washington declined to comment on the Israeli assurances.

Natan Sachs, director of the Brookings Institution’s Centre for Middle East Policy, said Mr Netanyahu’s decision was somewhat “reassuring for the Biden administration”. But, he added, Israel’s response was likely to aim for inflicting severe damage on Tehran.

Some of the Iranian missiles in the October 1 attack, which targeted Israeli military and intelligence sites, penetrated Israel’s anti-missile defences, causing minor damage but raising fears that another Iran attack might prove more effective.

“The latest Iranian attack caused real damage, and Israel is intent on making clear the old rules still apply: that Iran should dare not strike Israel directly, rather than the new rules Iran hopes to establish, of a regular tit-for-tat between the two countries,” Mr Sachs said.

Oil prices rose after Mr Biden suggested earlier this month that US officials were considering whether to support an Israeli strike on Iranian oil facilities. A day later, the President appeared at a White House press briefing room to say Israel should refrain from attacking Iranian oil facilities. “If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oilfields,” Mr Biden said on October 4.

Some analysts say Mr Biden should be wary of Mr Netanyahu’s assurances about its attack.

“This wouldn’t be the first time he’s floated what Biden wanted to hear, then did an about face when he got blowback from the right,” said Frank Lowenstein, a State Department official in the Obama administration, adding that hard-liners in the Israeli government “are still pushing for an attack on the nuclear sites, or at least the oil facilities”.

If Iran responded to the planned Israeli strike with a counterattack on Israel, it would be the third instance of Tehran hitting Israeli territory this year.

The US signalled its support for Israel’s plans on Sunday when it announced it was sending a missile-defence system designed to shoot down ballistic missiles to Israel. The decision marked a significant step in American efforts to bolster Israel’s defences, putting US soldiers on its territory.

The US Army-operated Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, known as Thaad, is expected to begin arriving in the coming days, along with roughly 100 soldiers to operate it.

The Wall Street Journal