West Asia crisis: US won’t be part of Israeli counter-strike on Iran, Joe Biden tells Netanyahu

President Joe Biden in a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him that the US won't participate in any counter-strike against Iran, according to media reports.

The US President and senior members of his national security team are worried that following the barrage of Iranian missiles and drones directed toward Israel, Israel will take some action that would lead to a regional war.

On Saturday (April 13) in a conversation with his Israeli counterpart, Biden sought to frame Israel’s successful interception of the Iranian onslaught as a major victory and suggested that further Israeli response was unnecessary, a senior administration official told CNN.“You got a win. Take the win,”BidentoldNetanyahu according to media reports.

Biden told the Israeli prime minister in his phone call that he should consider Saturday a win because Iran’s attacks had been largely unsuccessful and demonstrated Israel’s superior military capability, a senior administration official said.

John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, stated that Israel's ability to thwart the assault showed its "military superiority" and that Iran was not the "military power that they claim to be."

“This was an incredible success, really proving Israel’s military superiority and just as critically, their diplomatic superiority, that they have friends in the region, that they have around the world that are willing to help them,” he told CNN.

“I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks — sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel,” US President said in a statement following his conversation with Netanyahu.

Lloyd Austin, US Defense Secretary told Israel to notify the US ahead of any potential response to the Iranian attack, according to another US official.

Why did Iran launch an attack on Israel?

Iran launched the attack in retaliation for an airstrike in Syria on April 1 that killed seven Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members. Israel has not confirmed or disputed responsibility. It was Iran's first-ever direct strike on Israel, using over 300 drones and missiles.

(With inputs from agencies)