Amid discussions on response to Iran, US frustrated with Netanyahu over lack of clarity: Reports

As the United States and Israel hold discussions about a response to the Iranian attack last week, the Biden administration has become quite frustrated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to reports.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the frustration is primarily about the lack of clarity from Netanyahu’s government about its plans regarding Iran and the increasing trend of not keeping the Biden administration regarding major military escalation.

The WSJ’s report comes at a time when Israel is preparing to respond to last week’s attack by Iran involving 180 ballistic missiles. The support from the United States is critical for Israel to mount any attack on Iran. More importantly, the US support, along with that of the Arab-Western coalition US has formed for the defence of Israel, is critical for fending off any Iranian barrage.

The Biden administration is frustrated as the Netanyahu government has so far not shared details of a plan to respond to the Iranian attack, according to WSJ.

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The frustration has grown as Netanyahu, at the last moment, blocked Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s visit to the United States.

During the visit, the Biden administration expected Gallant to share plans regarding the response, including the targets, to Iran and hold consultations, but that’s not the case as Netanyahu has blocked the visit until he and Biden hold a call first. The Biden-Netanyahu call is expected sometime on Wednesday.

Biden has said that he expects Iran’s nuclear sites and oil infrastructure to not be struck during any Israeli attack.

US frustrated of being kept in dark

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As the US interests are spread across the Middle East, any escalation in the region affects it.

Last month, Gallant notified US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin merely minutes before the airstrikes about the decision to assassinate Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. Austin was reported to be furious as such a short notice did not allow the United States to prepare its forces in the region for any escalation from Hezbollah, Iran, one of the many armed groups in the region.

Previously, the United States was not informed about some of the biggest operations over the past year, such as the assassination of previous Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The decision to assassinate Nasrallah without keeping the United States came at a time when the Biden administration was working to ceasefire plan for the conflict in Israel and Lebanon, according to WSJ.

US tells Israel it expects clarity & transparency

US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan talked to Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on Friday and told him that the United States expects “clarity and transparency” from Israel about its plans for a response to Iranian attack, according to Axios.

Sullivan signalled that if the United States were unaware of the Israeli plan to attack, then the US support in fending off another Iranian barrage would not be automatic, as per the report.

While Dermer stressed that Israel wished to coordinate with the Biden administration regarding such an action, the US officials are not sure if Israeli assurances can be completely trusted, said the officials quoted in the report.

A Netanyahu aide told Axios that once a decision was made, Netanyahu would want to brief Biden before launching the attack.

The officials further said that any Israeli operation is expected to be a mix of airstrikes on Iranian military targets and covert missions such as Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran.