Tehran's leaders threatened to attack Israel this week in retaliation for killing one of their top generals. Now the dreaded strike has finally come. Iran reportedly launched more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel – though the IDF says 99% of them were intercepted.
While such an attack had been expected, the timing was uncertain. In the face of the looming threat, US President Joe Biden spoke of standing firm in defense of America’s ally – and even went so far as to rush warships into the region to protect both US and Israeli assets. But now that the attack has come and gone, Biden’s talking about meeting with other world leaders to discuss the matter, suggesting he’s looking for a more diplomatic solution than his previous “firm stance” suggested.
Iran Seeks Revenge
Though Israel has not admitted to attacking the consulate next to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, Syria, Iran believes the IDF is responsible for killing Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a top commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds force. Immediately following the strike, the Iranian leadership vowed to avenge the killing. At approximately 2 a.m. Israel time, Sunday morning, air raid sirens sounded throughout Israel. “Israel's military said more than 100 drones, which Iraqi security sources said were seen flying over the country from Iran, would take hours to reach their targets. Israeli Channel 12 said some had been shot down over Syria or Jordan,” Reuters reported. The intelligence community in the US had warned that a response from Iran could be anticipated but had not been specific about the timing.
In a turnabout from his tone of recent weeks, President Biden told the press leading up to the attack, "We are devoted to the defense of Israel…We will support Israel. We will defend, help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed." Additionally, the US has been bolstering its presence in the region to counter any threat by Iran. In the last several days, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has spoken twice with his counterpart, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, to "reiterate ironclad US support for Israel's defense in the face of growing threats from Iran and its regional proxies," according to readouts from the conversations.
To underscore the US defense secretary’s assurances, "The US rushed warships into position to protect Israel and American forces in the region, hoping to head off a direct attack from Iran on Israel that could come as soon as this weekend (April 13)," The Wall Street Journal reported. Though the attack from Iran was not prevented, the movement of US naval forces raises a timely question. What exactly does Biden plan to do now that Iran attacked Israel?
To date, the US has not done anything to hold Iran accountable for its warlike behavior in the Middle East. What is it precisely that the increased presence is supposed to accomplish? Iran has been successful through its proxies in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen to attack US and Israeli forces with impunity. Iran has supplied Houthi terrorist rebels in Yemen with anti-ship ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones to attack the US Navy in the Red Sea, yet Tehran has paid no price for these attacks.
Why Is the US So Timid?
Addressing this point, Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) asked Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Air Force General C. Q Brown, why the US is not holding Iran accountable. In a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Sullivan asked the question Americans want answered: "Why are we not sinking Iranian warships, intel ships providing, that are providing targeting intel to kill Marines, sailors from Alaska, or North Dakota? I find this outrageous." President Biden’s answer to the Iranian attack so far is to convene a meeting of the Group of Seven advanced democracies on Sunday to “coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.”
Now that Iran has thrown down the gauntlet, will the Biden administration step up? The president’s minimalist approach has yet to be effective. If the Biden administration were adamant about its "ironclad" guarantee of support for Israel, the first to know that would be Iran – but Tehran has yet to receive such a message.
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