Israel's security cabinet was weighing a potential military strike against Iran that could come as soon as Monday, just days after the Jewish state repelled an unprecedented wave of missile and drone attacks by Tehran, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The discussions came as President Joe Biden urged restraint and rallied allies for a united diplomatic front to prevent the long-simmering conflict from escalating into a broader regional war.
With the timeline for an Israeli retaliation potentially imminent, the race is on to de-escalate soaring tensions and get the hostilities between the two adversaries off the path toward open warfare that could engulf the Middle East and entangle the United States.
Tehran launched what military experts called one of the largest combined aerial assaults in recent history, with over 300 drones and missiles targeting Israeli territory. However, 99% of those projectiles failed to hit their intended targets thanks to an air defense operation coordinated by Israel, the US, UK, France and Arab allies like Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
According to the paper, US officials estimated around half of Iran's ballistic missiles crashed or failed to launch before reaching Israel or being intercepted. The limited damage from the barrage lent momentum to Western efforts urging Israel to hold off on a retaliatory strike for now.
In a call Saturday night with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden said Israel should now "proceed with caution" after the successful joint operation thwarting Iran's attack, according to a senior US official. The official told the Wall Street Journal it was "a very useful call" during a "period of heightened emotion" to discuss "where we are and next steps and nobody wants to run up the escalation ladder here."
Biden also convened leaders of the Group of Seven nations on Sunday, who said they would consider new sanctions on Iran over the attacks. The UN Security Council held an emergency session as well. While no decision on an Israeli response was announced, officials indicated the coordinated defensive efforts demonstrated Israel could overcome diplomatic isolation over its policies in Gaza to refocus attention on the Iranian threat.
Israeli media gave extensive coverage to assessments that Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards launched the assault, likely with the blessing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after a year of setbacks including protests at home and suspected Israeli attacks on its nuclear program.
Major outlets like CNN and The New York Times reported new details on the scale of the Iranian strike and collaborative defensive actions that helped protect Israeli lives and infrastructure. But whether the limited Iranian success will prompt restraint or further escalation from Tehran and its allies remains uncertain as Israel weighs its next moves.
