Biden says ‘we defeated’ Iran attack on Israel, calls again for Gaza cease-fire
WASHINGTON — President Biden said Monday that the US and Israel “defeated” the unprecedented Iranian attacks over the weekend — after roughly 99% of missiles and drones launched by Tehran were intercepted before hitting targets in Israel.
Biden, 81, said in his first public remarks since the barrage that “together with our partners, we defeated that attack,” as he hosted Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani in the Oval Office.
“The United States is committed to Israel’s security. We are committed to a cease-fire [between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip] that will bring the hostages home and prevent the conflict from spreading beyond what it already has,” the president also said.
The Israel Defense Forces said that Iran fired 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles toward the Jewish state on Sunday morning local time — nearly all of which were intercepted by the US and Israeli militaries, including from an American base in northern Iraq.
White House spokesman John Kirby on Monday called the episode a “spectacular and embarrassing failure” for Iran.
Iran’s attacks, which were in retribution for an April 1 Israeli airstrike on the country’s consulate in Damascus, Syria, that reportedly killed 16 people, resulted in no deaths in Israel.
Israeli officials say that a young Bedouin Arab girl was seriously injured by apparent shrapnel, but no other casualties were reported.
Kirby denied at the regular White House briefing that Iran provided advance knowledge to US allies of its plans, as described by Jordanian, Iraqi and Turkish officials.
“Let’s be straight, given the scale of this attack, Iran’s intent was clearly to cause significant destruction and casualties,” Kirby said.
“There was never any message to us or to anyone on the timeframe, the targets or the type of response. In fact, before yesterday, it was presumed that 100 ballistic missiles might overwhelm even the best defensive systems. That was Iran’s intent, and as you all saw for yourself, it didn’t work.”
Kirby added that “the United States has never before so extensively and so directly defended Israel from attack.”
Sudani, elected in 2022 with support from pro-Iran parties, told Biden in the Oval Office Monday that “our views might be divergent about what’s happening in the region,” but that the Iraqi government is “very eager about stopping this war [in Gaza] which claimed the lives of thousands of civilians, including women and children.”
Sudani has attacked Israel in prior public remarks, including during a visit to Tehran shortly after Hamas terrorists murdered about 1,200 people on Oct. 7, sparking the Israeli invasion of the Hamas-ruled Mediterranean territory.
On Nov. 6, Sudani said at a press conference with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi that “anyone who wants to contain this conflict and to prevent its spillover in the region should exert pressure on the authorities of the [Israeli] occupation to stop this aggression and the devastating and systematic killing,”
That same month, the Iraqi prime minister visited Russian President Vladimir Putin and said that Hamas’ attack on Israel was the “natural result” of Israeli policies toward Palestinians.
