The US is trying to prevent an escalation in the Middle East, while Biden is pushing Israel to show restraint

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Sunday emphasized its role in helping Israel thwart this policy Iran’s airstrike as president joe biden convened leaders of the group of seven countries in an effort to a broader regional escalation and coordinate a global rebuke of Tehran.

The United States Israel has helped Israel shoot down dozens of drones and missiles fired by Iran on Saturday in what was the first time it launched a direct military attack on Israel. Israeli authorities said 99% of the incoming weapons were shot down without causing significant damage.

US officials said that despite the high interception rate, Iran’s intent was to “destroy and inflict casualties” and that if successful, the attacks would have caused an “uncontrollable” escalation across the Middle East. US officials said that in an effort to defuse tensions, Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington would not engage in any offensive action against Iran, and the president made it “very clear” to Netanyahu that we do need to think carefully and strategically . ‘ about risks of escalation.

The push to encourage Israel to show restraint reflects ongoing U.S. efforts to contain Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, now in its seventh month, and to do more to protect the lives of civilians in the area.

While the US and its allies had been preparing for such an attack for days, the launches were at the “higher end” of what was expected, according to the officials, who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition spoke with anonymity.

At one point, at least 100 ballistic missiles from Iran were in the air at the same time, with just minutes of flight time to Israel, the officials said. Biden and senior officials monitored the shots and interception attempts in real time in the White House Situation Room. The officials said there was “relief” in the room when they saw that the missile defense effort had succeeded.

A senior US military official said US aircraft shot down more than 70 drones and cruise missiles, while US destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean shot down between four and six ballistic missiles, and a US Patriot missile battery in Iraq shot down another shot.

“At my direction, to support Israel’s defense, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week,” Biden said in a statement late Saturday. “Thanks to this commitment and the extraordinary skills of our military, we have helped Israel shoot down almost all incoming drones and missiles.”

Administration officials said the call showed that despite disagreements over the war in Gaza, the US commitment to Israel’s defense was “ironclad” and that the US would make a similar effort again if necessary.

The officials rejected the idea that Iran deliberately gave Israel and the US time to prepare for an attack, but said they were taking advantage of the time Iran needed before it was ready to launch the attack to plan their response to prepare. The officials said Iran signaled to the US during the attack late Saturday that what was seen was the entirety of its response. The message was sent via the Swiss government because the two countries do not have direct diplomatic ties.

Biden, in a phone call with Netanyahu on Saturday evening, urged Israel to claim victory because of its defense capabilities as the president sought to convince America’s closest ally in the Middle East against a larger retaliatory strike against Iran, the officials said.

“I told him that Israel has demonstrated a remarkable ability to defend and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its enemies that they cannot effectively threaten Israel’s security,” Biden said in his statement after the call.

Biden had a telephone conversation with Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Sunday in which the king said any “escalatory measures” by Israel would lead to a wider conflict in the region, the Royal Court said. The White House said the situation in Gaza was discussed and leaders reaffirmed their cooperation “to find a path to end the crisis as quickly as possible.”

The president also spoke with some American troops involved in the shooting down of the Iranian drones.

Following the G7 videoconference on Sunday, the leaders issued a joint statement condemning “unequivocally in the strongest terms” Iran’s direct attack, while expressing “our full solidarity and support for Israel” and “our commitment to its security ” reconfirmed.

The Group of Advanced Democracies – the US, Italy, Japan, Germany, France, Britain and Canada – also said Iran “has taken further steps towards the destabilization of the region with its actions and risks an uncontrollable provoke regional escalation.” They said their nations “stand ready to take further action now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives.”

A senior US government official said some countries were discussing designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization and unlocking further sanctions against Tehran, although no final decisions have been made.

The G7 statement referred to the war between Israel and Hamas, with the leaders saying they will “strengthen our cooperation to end the crisis in Gaza, including by continuing to work towards an immediate and lasting ceasefire” fires and the release of hostages by Hamas, and increased humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need.”

Speaking before a meeting Sunday of the United Nations Security Council, U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood reaffirmed the administration’s “ironically strong support for Israel’s defense.”

“In the coming days, the United States, and in consultation with other Member States, will explore additional measures to hold Iran accountable here at the United Nations,” Wood said, calling for immediate condemnation of the Iranian attack by the Security Council.

The US and Israel had been bracing for an attack for days after Iran said it would retaliate suspected Israeli attack this month at an Iranian consular building in Syria, killing 12 people, including two senior Iranian generals from the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force.

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized the White House for “leaking to the press” that Biden had told Netanyahu to win and not retaliate.

Rubio told CNN’s “State of the Union” that it was “part of the White House’s efforts to appease people” calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

AP writer Michael Weissenstein of the United Nations contributed.