U.S. official excludes wider war in the Middle East
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby stated on Sunday that the Iranian attack would not escalate in the region.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Kirby said U.S. President Joe Biden doesn’t “believe” that Iran’s overnight attacks against Israel need to escalate into a wider war in the Middle East.
“The President doesn’t believe that it needs to move in that direction whatsoever.”
Kirby’s remarks came after 24 hours of Iranian attacks against Israel.
On Saturday, Iran launched over 100 drones and missiles towards Israel in retaliation for the attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria, which resulted in the killing of top-ranking commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“The President doesn’t believe that it needs to move in that direction whatsoever,” Kirby added to NBC News.
Kirby declined to “get into hypotheticals” about whether the U.S. would back an Israeli counterattack against Iran.
“Israel hasn’t made any decisions that I’m aware of about what the next step is.”
On April 1, Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran’s consulate in Damascus, which is adjacent to the main embassy building, killing five IRGC officers and two generals, including Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon.
Earlier, the IDF stated that “a small number of hits were identified, including at an IDF base in southern Israel, where minor damage was caused to infrastructure.”