We will exert severe consequences & take all necessary measures to protect Israel—US warns on Iran attack on Israel

The US warned Tuesday that there would be “severe consequences” for Iran after its missile attack against Israel, pledging to work with Jerusalem to extract a price from Tehran.

Washington offered similar support for Israel after helping it thwart Iran’s previous attack in April, but then it quickly turned to caution Israel against responding too broadly, fearing an escalation into a regional war. On Tuesday, though, Biden officials weren’t just stressing Israel’s right to respond but indicating that the US would be assisting Israel in launching that response.

“There will be severe consequences for this attack and we will work with Israel to make that the case,” Sullivan said during a press briefing at the White House hours after Iran launched some 180 ballistic missiles at Israel.

One Palestinian in the West Bank was killed and two Israelis were injured by falling shrapnel and debris that had caused damage and started fires in the area.

The Israel Defense Forces said that it intercepted “a large number” of the missiles. Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said US Navy destroyers fired roughly one dozen interceptors at Iranian missiles. Sullivan said US “partners” also took part in thwarting the attack, but declined to identify them. Jordan Public Security Directorate said its air defenses intercepted missiles and drones over its airspace during the attack.

“At my direction, the United States military actively supported the defense of Israel,” US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House, adding that the Iranian attack “appears to have been defeated and ineffective.”

Image taken from video shows missiles fired from Iran being intercepted over Jerusalem, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP)
“This is testament to Israeli military capability… [and] also a testament to intensive planning [between] the United States and Israel to anticipate and defend against a brazen attack,” he added.

“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel,” the US president stressed.

Asked how he wanted Israel to respond, Biden said this was a matter in “active discussion” and that the consequences for Tehran “remain to be seen.”

Biden monitored the attack with US Vice President Kamala Harris from the Situation Room, and the pair held another meeting earlier Tuesday after the US received intelligence that an attack was imminent — information that was quickly shared with Israel.

In her own statement to the press, Harris said she backs Biden’s decision to order US military personnel to shoot down Iranian missiles targeting Israel, as he did in April.

She slammed the “reckless and brazen” Iranian missile attack, which further demonstrates that Tehran is a “destabilizing, dangerous force” in the Middle East.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to members of the media, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
“Iran is not only a threat to Israel, Iran is also a threat to American personnel in the region, American interests and innocent civilians across the region who suffer at the hands of Iran-based and backed terrorist proxies,” Harris continued. “We will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend US forces and interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists, and we will continue to work with our allies and partners to disrupt Iran’s aggressive behavior and hold them accountable.”

Pressed on what the pledged response to Iran might look like, Sullivan said the US had already begun discussing the issue with Israel before the strike was carried out and that those conversations would continue, but he declined to offer additional details.

“This is a significant escalation by Iran, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel,” said the top Biden aide.

“We are now going to look at what the appropriate next steps are to secure first and foremost American interests and then to promote stability — to the maximum extent possible — as we go forward,” he said.

“We are proud of the actions that we’ve taken alongside Israel to protect and defend Israel,” Sullivan said.

In a subsequent briefing, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller called on “every nation in the world must join us in condemning” Iran’s attack.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, during a press briefing at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Miller fiercely denied reports that Iran passed along a message to the US warning of the impending attack shortly before it was launched.

“What you saw Iran do today was come to the defense of a terrorist organization,” Miller added.

The State Department spokesperson also flatly rejected Iran’s claim that its attack was in response to Israel’s violation of its sovereignty when it killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.

“This event had nothing to do with Iran’s sovereignty. It has to do with the fact that a number of the terrorist organizations that Iran has set up for years as a way to undermine and attack the State of Israel have been weakened first over the past few months and then most recently over the past few weeks,” Miller said, highlighting the recent Israeli killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

“To the extent that any Iranian officials have been killed in the past few days in Lebanon or in Syria, it’s because they were meeting with terrorist leaders,” the State Department spokesperson said.