U.S. Concerned over Potential Iranian Retaliation
Biden administration officials are concerned that Iran may be planning to hit targets inside Israel in retaliation for the Israeli airstrikes in Syria this week that killed several senior Iranian officials, according to two US officials.
The officials said any retaliation inside Israel is expected to focus on military or intelligence targets, rather than civilians. They also said the administration has begun considering options for how to respond to various possible retaliatory moves by Iran.
Iran has threatened to retaliate, saying the building destroyed was a consular building and therefore was an attack on Iran itself.
A top aide to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Tehran sent a message warning the US not to get involved in the fight between Israel and Iran. “In a written message, the islamic republic of Iran warns US leadership not to get dragged in Netanyahu’s trap for the US: Stay away so you won’t get hurt,” Mohammad Jamshidi posted on X. He wrote that, in response, the US asked Iran not to target American facilities.
A spokesperson for the National Security Council said reports that the US had asked Iran not to target American facilities were “simply wrong" and “Iranian spin.”
“We received a message from Iran following the strike in Damascus. In response, we made clear that we were not behind the strike. We also warned Iran to not use the strike as a pretext to further escalate in the region or attack US facilities or personnel,” a senior administration official said.
On Monday, Israeli warplanes struck a building next to the Iranian embassy in Damascus.
In the hours after the strike, the Biden administration reached out to Iran directly to assure Tehran that the US was not involved and did not have advance knowledge of the strikes.
