Biden pledges a coordinated response from the G7 and support for Israel after Iran’s attacks

US President Joe Biden denounced the Iranian attacks on military facilities in Israel and pledged a coordinated diplomatic response from the Group of Seven major industrialized countries.

He said that his country helped Israel shoot down almost all of the drones and missiles.

Biden, who cut short a visit to Delaware and returned to Washington earlier on Saturday to meet with advisers on the attack, said that US forces and facilities weren’t targeted.

He pointed out that he reaffirmed the United States’ firm support for Israel’s security in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite the tense relations between them due to the way Israel is carrying out the war on the Gaza Strip.

Biden said in a statement issued by the White House, “I informed him that Israel has demonstrated an exceptional ability to defend and confront even unprecedented attacks, which sends a clear message to its enemies that they cannot threaten Israel’s security in an effective manner”.

He added, “Tomorrow, I’ll meet with the leaders of the G7 to coordinate a unified diplomatic response to the blatant Iranian attack”.

Biden said that he gave directions to the US military to move the positions of aircraft and destroyers for ballistic missile defenses in the region during the past week.

He continued, “Thanks to these deployments and the superior skill of our soldiers, we helped Israel shoot down almost all incoming drones and missiles”.

He said his team will coordinate with its counterparts across the region and remain in close contact with Israel’s leaders.

He added, “Although we didn’t witness attacks on our forces or facilities today, we will remain vigilant in the face of all threats and won’t hesitate to take all necessary measures to protect our personnel”.

Biden met with officials in the White House Situation Room, a crisis management center in the West Wing, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Director of Central Intelligence William Burns, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and other officials.

In turn, Hamas, on Sunday, considered the Iranian military response to Israel a “natural right” for Tehran after Israel targeted its Consulates in the Syrian capital, Damascus, in early April.

This came in a statement by the movement after Iran announced a comprehensive attack on Israel with drones and ballistic missiles.

Hamas said, “We consider the military operation carried out by Iran against the occupying Zionist entity as a natural right and a deserved response to the crime of targeting the Iranian consulate in Damascus and assassinating a number of Revolutionary Guard leaders there”.

Hamas stressed “the natural right of states and peoples of the region to defend themselves in the face of Zionist attacks”.

Hamas called on “the Arab and Islamic nation, the free people of the world, and the resistance forces in the region to continue their support for the operation al Aqsa flood (October 7), and for the right of our Palestinian people to freedom, independence, and the establishment of their Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital”.

Iran launched explosive drones and missiles at Israel late yesterday evening, Saturday, in its first direct attack on Israel, in a strike that exacerbated fears of a broader regional conflict.

Tehran vowed to respond after a recent Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, which resulted in the assassination of a senior leader in the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and six other senior officers.