Joe Biden rules out G7 all-clear for strike on Iranian nuke sites

‘The answer is no,’ the US President said when asked whether he would support such retaliation after Iran fired some 180 missiles at Israel.

US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

US President Joe Biden said overnight on Wednesday that he would not support an Israeli strike on sites related to Tehran’s ­nuclear program in response to Iran’s missile attack on Israel.

“The answer is no,” Mr Biden said when asked whether he would support such retaliation after Iran fired some 180 missiles at Israel on Tuesday. Mr Biden’s comments came after he and fellow Group of Seven leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain spoke by phone about co-ordinating sanctions against Iran.

The US and allies are scrambling to keep the Mid-East conflict sparked by Iran-backed Hamas militants’ in Gaza’s October 7 attack on Israel from spreading.

They are urging Israel to show restraint as it weighs retaliation against Iran for Tuesday’s­ attack.

Israel is now carrying out what it has described as limited ground operations across its northern border with Lebanon to dig out Hezbollah, another Iran-backed group, after carrying out a series of massive airstrikes that killed the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and decimated its leadership.

In September, thousands of explosives hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah detonated, killing dozens of people and maiming thousands, including many civilians. Israel is widely believed to be behind the attack

Mr Biden stated his opposition to Israel hitting Iranian nuclear facilities as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed a range of options in how to respond to Tuesday’s attack. It was the second such attack by Iran on Israel in less than six months.

Israel’s choices range from a largely symbolic strike – similar to how Israel responded after Iran launched a barrage of missiles and attack drones in April – ­to hitting oil facilities and other infrastructure. Targeting Iran’s nuclear program is seen as perhaps the most provocative action that Israel could take. It’s one that the Democratic Party President believes could further enflame a Mid-East conflict that he already worries could develop into a broader ­regional conflict.

The White House said in a statement that G7 leaders “un­equivocally condemned Iran’s attack against Israel” and that Mr Biden reaffirmed America’s “full solidarity and support to Israel and its people.” Mr Biden added that he supported Israel’s right to defend itself and “there are things that have to be done” in response to the Iranian barrage. He said he expected sanctions from the G7 nations to be announced soon.

“We will be discussing with the Israelis what they are going to do,” Mr Biden said before heading to the Carolinas to see the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. “All seven of us agree that they have a right to respond.”

The office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the leaders expressed “strong concern for the escalation of these last hours” and emphasised that “a conflict on a regional scale is in no one’s interest.” Italy holds the rotating presidency of the G7 group of industrialised democracies.

Mr Biden said he planned to speak with Mr Netanyahu “relatively soon.” The Biden administration has signalled that it was urging Israel to display restraint in how it responded to Iran’s missile attack, which Mr Biden said was “ineffective and defeated”.

On Wednesday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington had “made clear for some time that we do not want to see a full-blown regional escalation.” He refuted any notion that Washington no longer had influence over its ally.

The US military helped Israel defend against the attack that Iran carried out in retaliation for the killing of Tehran-backed leaders of Lebanese Hezbollah.

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said there “must be a return message” to Iran. He said the US and Israel officials continued to discuss their response.

“At the same time, I think we recognise as important as the response of some kind should be, there is a recognition the region is really balancing on a knife’s edge,” Dr Campbell said at a forum hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Wednesday with his counterparts from Britain, France, Germany, and Italy on the situation in the Middle East.

AP