National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that President Joe Biden called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on Israel’s 99% deflection of several hundreds of drones and missiles.
Anchor Jake Tapper said, “We are reporting the president told Netanyahu that the United States is not going to be part of any offensive attack against Iran. Did Netanyahu give president Biden any indication of what Israel intends to do next?”
Kirby said, “I certainly won’t speak for Prime Minister Netanyahu and what they’re thinking, and whether and how they’re going to respond. It’s really, that’s up for them to decide.”
He continued, “The purpose of the call was to check in with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the end of the operations. Now, not everything had finished getting into Israel, in terms of the drones still on the way, but we felt like we were near the end.
Kirby added, “The president wanted to congratulate Prime Minister Netanyahu for an incredible military achievement. The prime minister was very grateful for the support that president Biden offered and demonstrated in supporting Israel and the president made it clear that the self-defense of Israel is something we take seriously and we will continue to take this seriously.”
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