Iran attacks Israel: US President Joe Biden said his administration is still assessing the impact but Iran’s attack on Israel “appears to have been defeated and ineffective”. Biden said this after he asked the US military to take immediate action after Iran’s missile attack on Israel. He also said rather clearly that the US will support Israel.
Biden spoke to reporters at the White House, where he said, "At my direction, the United States military actively supported the defence of Israel. We are still assessing the impact but, based on what we know, the attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective and this is a testament to Israeli military capability,” adding that this is the testament of the intensive planning between the US and Israel to anticipate and defend against a brazen attack.
Tehran fired nearly 200 missiles at Israel. Their military said there were no news of injuries from the attack.
"Make no mistake, the United States is fully supportive of Israel,” said Biden adding that he spent the entire morning and part of the afternoon in the situation room, and discussing the deteriorating scenario with the national security team, who are in constant contact with the Israeli officials and counterparts.
Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris said that Iran is a “destabilising, dangerous force in the Middle East” and that the attack on Tuesday only proves the fact. She called Iran a threat not only to Israel but also to the US. “We will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend US forces and interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists,” she said.
Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump blamed the Biden administration for Iran’s attack on Israel. "When I was president, Iran was in total check. They were starved for cash, fully contained, and desperate to make a deal. Kamala flooded them with American cash and, ever since, they have been exporting terror all over,” he said, adding that during his tenure as a president there were no wars in the Middle East or Europe, there was harmony in Asia, no inflation, and no ‘Afghanistan catastrophe’. “Instead, we had peace. Now, war or the threat of war is raging everywhere and the two incompetents running this country are leading us to the brink of World War III,” he said.
WHAT INDIA SAYS
India too considers the October 7th attack by Hamas on Israel a terrorist attack. "We understand that Israel had a need to respond, but we also believe that any response by any country must take into account international humanitarian law and be careful about any damage or implications for civilian populations... We are very concerned about the possibility of a broadening conflict, not just in Lebanon but also regarding the Houthis and the Red Sea, and to some extent, anything that may happen between Iran and Israel. So, while it is one thing to be concerned,” EAM S Jaishankar had said earlier in the day.
The Indian embassy in Tel Aviv released a safety advisory asking all travelling Indians to exercise caution. "Please exercise caution, avoid unnecessary travel within the country and stay close to safety shelters. The Embassy is closely monitoring the situation and remains in regular touch with the Israeli authorities to ensure the safety of all our nationals," the Indian embassy said.