Netanyahu counters report about plans for Iran response

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Tuesday said Israel would listen to U.S. officials’ advice for a military response to a recent Iranian missile attack. But Tel Aviv ultimately will make its own decision about how to respond based on its own national interests, Netanyahu’s office wrote on social media. The statement came in response to a report that quoted anonymous U.S. officials discussing Israel’s intentions.

Iran earlier this month launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel—its second such strike in less than a year. Israel has vowed to respond precisely and lethally at a time of its own choosing. The attack caused minimal casualties in Israel and surrounding territories. A separate shooting attack in Tel Aviv claimed several Israelis’ lives.

Why is Israel clarifying their response? Netanyahu’s statement on social media specifically responded to a Washington Post report citing two anonymous U.S. officials as saying that Israel would not attack Iran’s nuclear or oil infrastructure as part of its response. The report indicated that Israeli officials were seeking to respond in a way that didn’t incite a regional war in the Middle East.

What is the United States doing in the region right now? U.S. military personnel arrived in Israel Monday ahead of a missile defense system the United States plans to provide, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The United States is deploying a Terminal High-Altitude Aerial Defense missile defense system, called a THAAD, on Israeli soil to help fend off Iranian and terrorist missiles, the Pentagon said earlier. The U.S. military deployed another THAAD system in Israel last year following the Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. Palestinian militants killed roughly 1,200 people in Israel and captured roughly 250 more in that attack.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report yesterday about recent battlefield developments in Israel’s multi-front war.