President Joe Biden stated earlier today that Israel’s recent retaliatory strike on Iran seemed to have specifically focused on military objectives.

“It looks like they didn’t hit anything other than military targets,” Biden told reporters, expressing cautious support for the strike. The comments follow an earlier statement by a senior official in the Biden administration who described Israel’s response as “targeted and proportional with low risk of civilian harm.” Adding his perspective, Biden commented, “My hope is this is the end,” signaling the U.S. administration’s intent to back Israel’s right to self-defense against Iran’s October 1 ballistic missile strike, while still urging efforts toward de-escalation in the area.

Later in the day, Vice President Kamala Harris echoed Biden’s sentiment, emphasizing to reporters, “We are very adamant that we must see de-escalation in the region going forward, and that will be our focus.”

“Of course, we maintain the importance of supporting Israel’s right to defend itself,” Harris noted, referencing Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s diplomatic efforts in the region this week, aimed at progressing toward ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon.

Since Iran’s initial attack nearly a month ago, U.S. officials have sought to help Israel calibrate its response to avoid a wider conflict. President Biden publicly opposed strikes on Iranian nuclear or oil sites, ultimately guiding Israel’s retaliation to military sites, which were targeted in the early hours of Saturday. The strategy relied heavily on U.S. support, with Washington deploying several THAAD air defense batteries to Israel along with U.S. troops – marking the first time U.S. personnel were on the ground in Israel to aid in defense efforts.

President Isaac Herzog extended a message of gratitude for the “overt and covert” assistance from the United States prior to Israel’s counterattack. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office sought to downplay American involvement, issuing multiple statements rejecting the notion of U.S. influence over the decision to target specific sites.

“Israel chose the targets ahead of time, based on its national interests,” clarified the PMO, “and not based on American directives.”

Another statement from Netanyahu’s office countered claims that Israel had warned Iran indirectly, prior to the strike, about what would or would not be targeted.

“Israel did not notify Iran before the attack – not about the timing, not about the targets, and not about the scale of the attack,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Iran, however, had a different perspective on the matter. After Israel’s strikes early Saturday, which included reports of explosions in Tehran, Iran’s UN mission asserted that Israeli forces had accessed Iranian territory through Iraqi airspace, implicating the U.S.

“Iraqi airspace is under the occupation, command and control of the U.S. military. Conclusion: The U.S. complicity in this crime is certain,” Iran’s mission to the UN stated.

Within Israel, leading political figures also responded to the operation’s outcome. Benny Gantz, chair of the National Unity party, issued a statement calling the strike “nothing more than a fraction of the harm Israel can inflict to the regime, should it choose to continue its aggression.”

The strike’s importance, Gantz argued, went beyond the immediate damage. It was, he said, significant because of “the method by which it was executed,” describing it as “a new stage in our war against the Iranian regime” that signals potential for further actions.

“The campaign is far from over,” Gantz added, while reaffirming the nation’s commitment to “bringing our hostages home, replacing the Hamas regime, and reducing Hezbollah’s power to create a stable environment for Israeli citizens.”

Echoing Gantz, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir referred to the strikes as a “beginning.” While praising the strike, he emphasized the need for additional measures, adding, “We have a historical obligation to remove the Iranian threat to destroy Israel.”

Iran’s foreign ministry responded by saying it had an obligation to defend itself, though it did not explicitly threaten a counteraction. Iranian media sources reported that four soldiers were killed in the attacks.

Anonymous officials, including one affiliated with the IRGC, told The New York Times that the Israeli strikes targeted at least three missile bases belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The report also mentioned that Israeli drones hit the Parchin military base near Tehran, with one drone striking successfully while others were shot down.

In a statement, the IDF specified that it had targeted strategic military locations in Iran, focusing on areas where drones and ballistic missiles were produced and launched, as well as air defense systems. The assault consisted of several waves over hours, with hits recorded in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz. In anticipation of further actions, the initial round of strikes reportedly aimed to disable Iran’s air defenses, ensuring that Israeli forces could continue operations should Iran retaliate.

In a concurrent development, Syrian media reported that Israel had targeted various military installations across southern and central Syria, likely to facilitate Israeli Air Force activities in Iran. Subsequent strikes targeted sites involved in the production and launch of drones and ballistic missiles that Iran previously used in attacks on Israel on April 14 and October 1.

{Matzav.com}