In the midst of war in the Middle East, US President Joe Biden advised Israel against attacking Iranian oil sites, while Republican candidate Donald Trump went so far as to suggest striking nuclear facilities.
While Iran officially entered into conflict with Israel after the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Benjamin Netanyahu considered carrying out targeted strikes on Iranian oil sites, in response to the 200 missiles sent by the Islamic Republic on the Hebrew State last Tuesday. An option discouraged by the President of the United States, Joe Biden, while his predecessor, Donald Trump, went further by estimating that Israel should strike Iranian nuclear facilities in order to “blow Iran into smithereens”.
“If I were in their place, I would consider other options than hitting oil fields” in Iran, declared Joe Biden, during an intervention before the press at the White House, after being questioned about discussions between Washington and Israel on the possibility of such strikes. “The Israelis have not determined what they are going to do,” he continued.
It was enough for his predecessor Donald Trump, candidate in the presidential election of November 5, to affirm on the contrary that we must not be satisfied with oil sites, but directly target Iranian nuclear installations, whose development has been questioned on several occasions by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). From North Carolina, the former president thus estimated that it was necessary to “strike nuclear first” and “take care of the rest later”.
The Republican had until now been particularly silent on the recent conflagration in the Middle East. He simply issued a scathing statement at the start of the week, holding Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, his presidential rival, responsible for the explosion of tensions.
an impact on the American presidential election?
Israel’s number one ally and main military supporter, the United States finds itself in a complex situation. If Joe Biden has often repeated that he is doing everything to avoid a total war in the region, where Israel is carrying out strikes in Lebanon against the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, the American president has touched on the question of whether he considers that the Israeli Prime Minister was showing unwillingness to find a peace agreement, in order to try to influence the outcome of the American presidential election.
“No administration has helped Israel as much as I have. None, none, none. And I think Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu’s nickname) should remember that,” he insisted from the White House. “As for whether he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know, but I’m not counting on it.” “The most important thing we can do is try to mobilize the rest of the world and our allies to participate, and help ease tensions,” he added, citing France as an example. .
Furthermore, Joe Biden did not hide his irritation towards Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom relations leave something to be desired, while the United States tries to frame Israel’s virulent response to the deadly Hamas attack of October 7 on Israeli soil. The Israeli prime minister has consistently ignored American calls for restraint in Lebanon and Gaza, where more than 41,000 Palestinians have died in Israeli operations.
Although he has not spoken to him personally since the Iranian attack, the two countries are in “constant contact,” he also said. “They are not going to make a decision immediately so we will wait to see when they want to speak,” he said. Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, warned that Iran would face severe reprisals following the firing of around 200 Iranian missiles against Israel last Tuesday.
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