U.S. will not help Israel with counter-offensive against Iran, Biden says
Global News
Israeli officials said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's five-member war cabinet favored retaliation in a meeting on Sunday.
President Joe Biden warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the U.S. will not take part in a counter-offensive against Iran, an option that Netanyahu’s war cabinet favors after a mass drone and missile attack on Israeli territory, according to officials.
The threat of open warfare erupting between the arch Middle East foes and dragging in the United States has put the region on edge, triggering calls for restraint from global powers and Arab nations to avoid further escalation.
The U.S. will continue to help Israel defend itself but does not want war, John Kirby, the White House’s top national security spokesperson, told ABC’s “This Week” program on Sunday.
Jordan’s King Abdullah told Biden in a phone call on Sunday that any further escalation from Israel would widen the conflict in the region, Jordanian state media reported.
Israeli officials said Netanyahu’s five-member war cabinet favored retaliation in a meeting on Sunday, though the panel is divided over the timing and scale of any such response.
Iran launched the attack over a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed top Revolutionary Guards commanders and followed months of clashes between Israel and Iran’s regional allies, triggered by the war in Gaza.
However, the attack by more than 300 missiles and drones, mostly launched from inside Iran, caused only modest damage in Israel as most were shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system and with help from the U.S., Britain, France and Jordan.
An Air Force base in southern Israel was hit but continued to operate as normal and a 7-year-old child was seriously hurt by shrapnel. There were no other reports of serious damage.
Canada is amongst several nations who 'condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf.'
Gas prices in Canada have been climbing sharply since the Iran war began, but how much higher they could go is unclear as consumers struggle with the higher cost of living.
The Oscar-winning actor has denied all allegations against him and maintains that the incidents raised in the lawsuits either did not happen or were consensual.
European leaders have deflected entreaties from U.S. President Donald Trump to send military assets to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
All six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refueling aircraft were killed last week in a plane crash over friendly territory in western Iraq, supporting operations against Iran.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified that the regime remains intact and Tehran and its proxies remain capable of attacking U.S. and allies' interests.
James 'Jimmy' Gracey was reported missing after he didn't return to the short-term rental where he was staying with friends during spring break.
The U.K. Health Security Agency described the event as 'rapidly evolving' and warned of the potential for further cases.
U.S. benchmark crude fell US$1.24 to US$94.53 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose to US$104.17 per barrel. That's down from more than US$106 on Monday.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukraine's allies not to forget about his country, and suggested the U.S. and others should make use of Ukraine's anti-drone technology during the war.
Trump’s visit to China is seen as an opportunity to build on a fragile trade truce, but it has become tangled in his effort to find an endgame to the war in Iran.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz starting to move is "a sign of how little Iran has left."
The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, were “eliminated last night," Israel said.