Israeli attacks on Iran ‘must be the end’ of the conflict, says Joe Biden

The attack, codenamed “Days of Repentance,” saw stealth fighters strike nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from Israel’s border.

Israel has chosen not to target oil refineries or nuclear facilities and appears to be allowing Iran to claim it suffered only limited damage in the “precise and targeted” strike.

Tehran appears more vulnerable to further Israeli attacks if it decides to respond after air defenses are dismantled and missile factories are decimated.

Israel’s attack on Saturday was the largest direct strike by a foreign air force on Iranian soil in more than three decades.

Missiles hit as many as 20 targets across Iran, killing four soldiers but avoiding civilian casualties.

A senior White House official said Israel’s attack was “an exercise of self-defense,” adding: “As far as we’re concerned, that should put an end to direct exchanges between Israel and Iran.”

Iran said it “reserves the right to a legitimate and lawful response at the right time” and called for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

“We warn the criminal and terrorist-supporting US government, which plays a central role in supporting and fully supporting the Zionist regime’s criminal actions that destabilize regional security,” the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces added in a statement.

“To prevent the spread of conflict and insecurity in the region and the killing of innocent people, especially in Gaza and Lebanon, it is strongly urged to restrain this illegal and illegitimate regime and prevent itself and its allies becoming further entangled in the quagmire created by the occupation regime.”

Hours after the attacks on Iran, Hezbollah, the Tehran-backed terrorist group based in Lebanon that Israel is currently fighting, fired 80 rockets across the border into towns and cities.

The White House also sought to promote Mr. Biden’s role in encouraging Israel to take an approach that would achieve a de-escalation rather than a move toward further conflict in the Middle East.

The official said the president had worked in recent weeks “to encourage Israel to carry out a response that was targeted and proportionate with a low risk of harm to the civilian population,” which they said “appears to be exactly what happened ”.

Israel said its “mission is complete” but threatened Iran that it would not hesitate to launch a new wave of attacks if it responded.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, took a similar approach to the US, reiterating that Israel has the right to “defend itself against Iranian aggression”.

“I am equally clear that we must avoid further regional escalation and urge all parties to show restraint. Iran should not respond,” he said.