For once, the importance of a military attack is not measured by its results. The multidimensional aggression launched by Iran against Israel, on the night of Saturday April 13 to Sunday April 14, did not cause major damage, significant human losses, territorial conquests, or critical destabilization of the defense system. It’s quite the opposite. Traced from their departure, almost all the drones were destroyed, as were the ballistic and cruise missiles fired in the second salvo. This operation had been planned and anticipated for days, both by the Israeli security apparatus and its first protector, the United States.
Washington has indeed continued to alert its European allies and their Arab interlocutors in the Middle East of the imminent risk of an attack, much like American intelligence did before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February. 2022. No one could say they were surprised. Except those stuck in the past, who have not set their geopolitical clock to the post-October 7, 2023 era, opened by the Hamas attack. An era in which Joe Biden has committed the moral and military credibility of his country to the side of the Jewish state.
As soon as the Iranian attack was launched, Joe Biden was “the first American president to directly defend Israel”, underlined a senior official in Washington. But how can we hold back the hand of an Israeli government which has, for months, continued to disregard the recommendations of its ally in Gaza? Very quickly, during the night from Saturday to Sunday, at the end of a telephone conversation between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House made it known through leaks that the United States opposed any offensive Israeli action against Iran.
“One of the messages sent by the president to the prime minister was: be proud of what you have accomplished,” summarized John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, on MSNBC. In other words, the escalation must stop here, with this defensive victory. The administration wants to prioritize diplomatic action to isolate Tehran. Hence the emergency meeting, on Sunday, by video link, of the G7 countries.
Avoid a regional conflagration
This is a moment of truth, an unparalleled test of authority for Joe Biden. The American president locked himself into unconditional support for Israel after the deadly Hamas attack. Despite the war crimes committed by the army in return and the deaths of more than 32,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, Washington did not want to restrain the Israeli arm, except at the margins. The top priority of the American administration was to avoid a regional conflagration. This strategy is now in danger.
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