October 4, 2024
Biden says Israel should consider alternatives to hitting Iran’s oil fields
US president also claims ‘no administration has helped Israel more than I have’ and says ‘Bibi should remember that’; Trump says he thinks Israel should hit nuclear sites
by Jacob Magid
TimesOfIsrael.com
US President Joe Biden speaks to the media in the White House press room, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Washington.
US President Joe Biden on Friday said Israel has not yet decided how it’s going to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile assault, but suggested it should refrain from attacking Iranian oil facilities.
“If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields,” Biden said during a rare appearance at the White House daily press briefing.
Earlier this week, Biden said he opposed Israel targeting Iranian nuclear sites as well.
Biden’s latest remarks came a day after he said the idea of an Israeli strike on Iranian oil sites was “in discussion,” causing oil prices to shoot up amid fears of a sudden shock to the global supply.
“I think — I think that would be a little — anyway,” Biden said then, adding that Israel would ultimately make its own decisions on how to respond to Iran’s massive missile strike. Hours later, he said “I know not to negotiate in public” when asked if he had urged Israel not to attack Iran’s oil infrastructure.
Despite Biden’s comments, Hebrew media reports said the Israeli response was being closely coordinated between Washington and Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump said he believed Israel should strike Iran’s nuclear facilities in response to the Islamic Republic’s recent missile barrage.
The former president, speaking at a campaign event in North Carolina, referred to a question posed to Biden this week about the possibility of Israel targeting Iran’s nuclear program.
“They asked him, what do you think about Iran, would you hit Iran? And he goes, ‘As long as they don’t hit the nuclear stuff.’ That’s the thing you want to hit, right?” Trump told a town hall style event in Fayetteville, near a major US military base.
“I think he’s got that one wrong,” Trump said, in response to a participant’s question about the issue. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to hit? I mean, it’s the biggest risk we have, nuclear weapons.
“When they asked him that question, the answer should have been, hit the nuclear first, and worry about the rest later,” Trump added.
“If they’re going to do it, they’re going to do it. But we’ll find out whatever their plans are.”
People visit the site of the remains of an Iranian missile in the Negev desert near Arad on October 3, 2024, in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack on Israel.
As Israel continued its efforts to decimate Tehran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, Iran launched a massive ballistic missile barrage on Israel Tuesday, sending millions of Israelis into bomb shelters in Iran’s second-ever direct attack on Israel, after a previous assault in April. Some damage was done to Israel’s air bases, though the IDF said it was “ineffective.” A Palestinian in the West Bank was killed by shrapnel, and two Israelis were injured.
Iran said the strike was in response to Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a top IRGC general, as well as its alleged killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a Tehran blast in July.
Asked Friday whether he thought Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was rejecting diplomatic agreements in Gaza and Lebanon to influence the upcoming presidential election, Biden responded, “No administration has helped Israel more than I have. None, none, none, and I think Bibi should remember that.
“As for whether he’s trying to influence the election, or…I don’t know, but I’m not counting on that,” Biden added.
Biden said he assumed he would speak to Netanyahu when Israel decides on how it wants to respond to Iran. The two have not spoken for some six weeks, with the president saying a day earlier that they have not talked “because there’s no action going on right now.”
Another reporter Friday suggested to Biden that he is unable to influence Israel. The president rejected the premise, saying he receives regular briefings and that his team is in constant contact with their Israeli counterparts.
“It’s the High Holidays… They’re not going to make a decision immediately. And so, we’re going to wait to see when they want to talk,” he added.
US President Joe Biden, right, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 25, 2024.
Asked again whether Israel was heeding his administration’s advice, Biden responded by highlighting his Gaza hostage deal proposal from May, which has failed to advance. US officials have blamed Hamas for refusing to engage on the proposal over the last several weeks, with the New York Times reporting Friday on an American intelligence assessment that the terror group’s leader Yahya Sinwar has become increasingly fatalistic and unreceptive to a deal.
“What I know is the plan that I put together received the support of the UN Security Council, the vast majority of our allies around the world, as a way to bring this to an end,” Biden said.
“The Israelis have every right to respond to the vicious attacks on them — not just from the Iranians but from everyone from Hezbollah to Houthis. But the fact is that they have to be much more careful about dealing with civilian casualties,” Biden added, leaning on a common administration talking point regarding the regional fighting sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack.
Pressed again on how Israel should respond to Iran, Biden declined to offer further details. “That’s between me and them.”
Asked if he was considering imposing sanctions on Iran, the president said the matter was under discussion. In comments Wednesday urging Israel to respond “proportionally,” Biden said G7 leaders had agreed to sanction Iran.
Another reporter asked if there was anything the US can do to prevent an all-out war in the Middle East.
“There’s a lot we are doing. The main thing we can do is try to rally the rest of the world, our allies into participating — like the French are in Lebanon and other places — to tamp this down, but when you have proxies as irrational as Hezbollah and the Houthis… it’s a hard thing to determine,” Biden said.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/biden-says-israel-should-consider-alternatives-to-hitting-irans-oil-fields/
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