Washington Post: Israel won’t target Iran’s nuclear and oil facilities

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the US administration that Israel won’t target nuclear and oil facilities in its expected attack on Iran.

The Washington Post quoted two US officials as saying that Netanyahu said that Israel would target military facilities in Iran, during his call with US President Joe Biden last Wednesday.

The two officials said Netanyahu told the Biden administration that the Israeli military is prepared to strike military facilities rather than oil or nuclear facilities in Iran.

One of the officials told The Washington Post that Israeli retaliation would be controlled to avoid the perception of political interference in the US elections.

He pointed out that Netanyahu realizes that the scope of the Israeli attack on Iran has the potential to reshape the upcoming US presidential race on November 5.

He said the Israeli prime minister took a more moderate stance in the latest meeting compared to previous contacts with Biden.

The two officials said Netanyahu’s apparent softening of his stance was influential in Biden’s decision to send a powerful missile defense system to Israel.

“We listen to the views of the United States, but we will make our final decisions in accordance with our national interests,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

For his part, another official told the Washington Post that Israel will carry out the attack on Iran before the US elections.

He added that Israel’s failure to take any action could be interpreted by Iran as a “sign of weakness”.

On October 1, Iran launched its second attack on Israel in 2024, using more than 180 missiles, in response to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, and Israel’s massacres in Gaza and Lebanon.

Following the Iranian attack, Netanyahu said in a video message that Iran, with its missile attack, “made a big mistake and will pay the price”.