Biden Says More US Sanctions On Iran But Won't Support Attack on Its Nuclear Sites

Joint Base Andrews: United States President Joe Biden on Wednesday said that he will not support an Israeli attack on sites related to Tehran's nuclear programme, however, more sanctions could be slapped against the country. His statement comes after reports suggested that Israel is mulling to attack Iran's oil rigs and nuclear sites.

“The answer is no,” Biden said Wednesday, when asked if he would support such retaliation after Iran fired about 180 missiles at Israel on Tuesday.

Biden's comments came after he and fellow Group of Seven leaders spoke by phone on Wednesday to discuss coordinating new sanctions against Iran.

The White House said in a statement that the G7 leaders “unequivocally condemned Iran's attack against Israel” and Biden reiterated the United States' “full solidarity and support to Israel and its people.” All the while, the administration has signalled that it's urging that Israel display restraint in how it responds to Tuesday's missile attack, which Biden said was “ineffective and defeated.”

Significant difference between Israeli actions that expanded war, says US   

The Biden administration says there is a significant difference between Israeli actions that have expanded its war against the Iranian-backed militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran's retaliatory missile attack against Israel, which it condemned as escalatory.

In carefully calibrated remarks, officials across the administration are defending the surge in attacks by Israel against Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon, while still pressing for peace and vowing retribution after Iran fired about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday.

President Joe Biden praised the US and Israel militaries for defeating the barrage and warned, “Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully supportive of Israel.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the Iranian missile attack “totally unacceptable, and the entire world should condemn it.” There was little criticism that Israel may have provoked Iran's assault. "Obviously, this is a significant escalation by Iran,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

With inputs from PTI