Austin wrote in a post on the “X” platform following his call with Gallant, yesterday evening, Thursday: “Yesterday evening, I called Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss Israel’s operations in Lebanon… I reaffirmed the firm American support for Israel’s right to defend itself, and renewed the United States’ commitment.” By reaching a diplomatic settlement that guarantees the safe return of Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the border.”
Austin added: “I urged the need to ensure the safety of UNIFIL forces and coordinate the transition from military operations to the diplomatic track as soon as possible.”
He continued: “I made clear that the United States is in a good position to defend its personnel, partners, and allies against any attacks from Iran or its partners and proxies supported by Iran… Minister Gallant and I also affirmed our commitment to preventing any party from exploiting tensions or expanding the scope of the conflict in the region… as well, “We discussed urgent steps to address the critical humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
Earlier yesterday, Thursday, three American and Israeli officials told Axios that US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had come close to understanding the scope of the Israeli response against Iran.
The officials indicated that “the Biden administration accepts the idea that Israel will soon launch a major attack on Iran, but it fears that strikes on certain targets will lead to a significant escalation of the regional war.”
A senior Israeli official said current plans were still more aggressive than the White House would like.
The Israeli security cabinet met on Thursday evening for approximately four hours to study plans to attack Iran and reach an understanding with the Biden administration, according to Israeli officials.
The Israeli Channel 12 reported that the military-political cabinet meeting did not come up with a decision on the nature of the Israeli response to the Iranian missile attack in early October.
The channel’s report indicated that “the Ministerial Council was supposed to give permission to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant to make a decision regarding the response to Iran… but this was not done,” and the channel did not specify the reason for the decision not being taken.
Meanwhile, American and Israeli officials said that working-level consultations between the United States and Israel regarding the response to Iran began Thursday and will continue in the coming days.
According to officials, Gallant will likely travel to Washington early next week to continue discussions with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
However, the Israeli Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu’s “unwillingness” to coordinate Minister Gallant’s trip to the United States in the context of assessing the situation in the Middle East region with his American colleagues has not been confirmed until the final decision is taken regarding the response to Iran.
Source: RT
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