The US has offered Israel a “compensation package” if it avoids hitting certain targets in its planned attack on Iran, The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday, citing the Israeli TV channel Kan 11.
Amichai Stein, a correspondent for Kan 11, said the package would include military aid and a guarantee that the US would provide total diplomatic support.
“An American official said, ‘If you don’t hit targets A, B, C, we will provide you with diplomatic protection and an arms package,” Chair said. “Israeli officials responded saying, ‘We consider the United States and listen to them. But we will do anything and everything we can to protect the citizens and the security of the State of Israel.'”
The US is coordinating with Israel on its plans to respond to the Iranian missile barrage that hit Israel last week, which came in response to several Israeli escalations throughout the region, including the July 31 assassination of Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran.
The US has said it will ensure Iran faces “severe consequences” but has warned against certain types of attacks, including attacks on Iran’s civilian nuclear facilities. President Biden said the US and Israel were discussing the idea of strikes on Iranian oil sites, but later said if he was in Israel’s shoes, he would be thinking about “other alternatives than striking oil fields.”
Other attacks Israel is considering include strikes on Iran’s air defense systems or more targeted assassinations inside Iran. The US is expected to support the attack in some way, whether by providing intelligence or more direct support and is vowing to defend Israel from any Iranian retaliation.
Any Israeli attack on Iran risks provoking a major war as Iran is vowing that Israel will face a harsher attack if it retaliates. On Friday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran and its allies in the region won’t back down in the face of Israeli attacks.
“The resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders,” Khamenei said. He called Iran’s missile attack on Israel “legal and legitimate” and said it was in response to “the heinous crimes committed by this bloodthirsty criminal entity.”
