The Biden administration has warned Iran that it could suffer economic harm if it launches a “significant” attack on Israel — though it appeared to indicate that a smaller attack against Israel would be acceptable to the United States.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday:
The U.S. has warned Iran that its newly elected government and economy could suffer a devastating blow if it were to mount a major attack against Israel, a U.S. official said.
…
“The United States has sent clear messaging to Iran that the risk of a major escalation if they do a significant retaliatory attack against Israel is extremely high,” said the official.
Those messages have also put Tehran on notice “that there is a serious risk of consequences for Iran’s economy and the stability of its newly elected government if it goes down that path,” the official added.
Notably, the warning focused on “consequences for Iran’s economy” and its new government — not military consequences — though the U.S. has been sending more fighter jets and surveillance aircraft to the region.
The Journal, citing U.S. officials, also described the potential attack by Iran as “retaliatory,” presumably after the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran last week. However, Iran has been attacking Israel, through its proxies, for decades; if anything ought to be described as “retaliatory,” it would be an Israeli strike against Iran.
Iran also launched some 300 projectiles, including cruise missiles, at Israel in April. At the urging of the U.S., Israel kept its response very small, though some Israeli leaders wanted to target Iran’s nuclear facilities in response.
Israelis have been bracing for a threatened attack by Iran, and possibly by Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, since Haniyeh’s death and since Israel killed Hezbollah second-in-command Fuad Shukr in Beirut last week.
There have been reports in recent days that the U.S. has been urging Iran not to attack, or to be satisfied with a symbolic attack, but these have all been based on anonymous sources — as is the most recent report in the Journal.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
