Washington- Immediately after the Israeli side announced the start of a series of air attacks on nuclear facilities, military and political leaders and other targets within several Iranian cities, US officials have taken steps to distance themselves from Israeli strikes, stressing that Washington did not participate in it.
From the American capital, the Israeli embassy issued a statement saying that Israel launched a “proactive, accurate and joint attack Iranian nuclear programAnd the Israeli aircraft participated in the “first stage” that targeted “dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different regions of Iran.”
For his part, the Israeli Prime Minister said Benjamin Netanyahu -What is required forInternational Criminal Court On charges of war crimes in Gaza– In a televised statement, the attacks, which were called “the rising lion”, will continue for several days to remove the threat of the Iranian nuclear program.
Psychological policy
Contrary to Washington’s position during the Israeli -Iranian attacks between them during the months of April and October 2024, Washington has regretted its bleeding away, and it did not pledge to defend Israel.
The US Secretary of State said Marco Rubio – In a statement- the United States did not participate in the strikes, and urged Iran to not take revenge on American goals.
He added: “Tonight, Israel has taken unilateral measures against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran, and our maximum priority is to protect the American forces in the region. Israel informed us that it believes that this measure is necessary for self -defense. American interests or individuals. “
While Israel is preparing for the Iranian response, the US State Department issued directives to all US government employees in Israel and their families to take shelter in their places until further notice.
The first wave
Just hours before the Israeli attacks, and in press statements at the White House, the president said Donald Trump His country is still “committed to a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue!”, And Iran “can be a great country, but they must first abandon the hopes of obtaining a nuclear weapon.”
” جهني And the director of research at the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy known to his proximity to Israel, the strike “appears to be the first wave of an Israeli campaign.”
“The initial goal that was defined in the center of Tehran, including what appears to be accurate strikes on the homes of senior officials, indicates the intention of the failure of the regime’s leadership, leadership and control, and the following attacks can be targeting a set of targets much wider and geographically varied,” Stroll added.
The strikes come a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency voted to blame Iran for not complying with the non -spread obligations.
In this context, the US Secretary of Defense said Higseth House Yesterday, Thursday, before Israel launched its attacks- President Trump “gave Iran every possible opportunity to obtain answers to its secret nuclear activity, and Iran failed to respond.” Higseth cited a report State Energy State Agency Who condemned what he considered an Iranian behavior.
What Washington did not say it
It is worth noting that the Israeli attacks come after the end of the deadline that Trump imposed on himself for a period of two months as a time limit for nuclear talks with Iran, and a sixth tour will be held next Sunday in the Sultanate of Oman, which was a specific date before launching the Israeli attacks.
The expert Stroll attacked the statement of Foreign Minister Rubio, and explained that “the US Secretary of State announces unambiguously that Israel has made its decision on its own.”
“Iran should not target American individuals or American interests, there is a very real threat that the Iranians implicitly understand this as a green light to attack Israel directly.”
What is not said – according to Stroll – is whether the United States would participate in defending Israel or not as it did previously. She explained that “ambiguity or suggestion of American -Israeli disputes represents a risk to encourage opponents.”
In contrast, former President Joe Biden’s adviser to the Middle East Brett McGurk, who is currently working as a political commentator at CNN, said he expected a major American role in defending Israel against any Iranian revenge.
For their part, many major Republicans expressed in SenateBesides prominent supporters supporting Israel, their support for what they considered Israeli “proactive strikes” on Iran, but a number of skeptical lawmakers – most of them Democrats – expressed concern that strikes might ignite a wider war in the region.