US President Biden Is Iran's Ultimatum To Fight Israel

JAKARTA - US President Joe Biden warned Iran against attacking Israel amid expectations that Tehran would soon retaliate for the bombing of its consulate in Damascus, Syria, earlier this month.

"We are devoted to defending Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed," Biden told reporters as he ended his virtual speech in front of civil rights groups as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, April 13.

Israel is on high alert amid Iran's public pledge to attack Israeli targets in retaliation for its April 1 airstrikes against its diplomatic facilities in the Syrian capital.

The attack killed at least seven members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two important generals.

Iran accused Israel of carrying out the attack and promised to retaliate.

But Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the attack, but for months Israel has carried out a number of attacks on Iranian targets in Syria.

Neither Iran nor Hezbollah, its main ally in Lebanon, said the attack would be left alone.

When asked by a journalist how likely an Iranian attack would be, Biden said his estimate was "faster than later."

The escalation comes as Israel continues to launch a deadly military offensive in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack in early October 2023 by Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people.

More than 33,600 Palestinians have died in Gaza and more than 75,800 others have been injured in mass destruction and shortages of basic necessities.