(Washington) Joe Biden reaffirmed Wednesday that his support for Israel was “unwavering” in the face of threats of retaliation from Iran after a deadly strike against the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.
Iran “is threatening to launch a significant attack against Israel,” the American president said during a joint press conference at the White House with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“As I told Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu, our commitment to the security of Israel, in the face of these threats from Iran and its allies, is unwavering,” he added.
“I repeat: unwavering. We will do everything we can to protect Israel’s security,” Joe Biden continued.
The comment comes at a time of strong tension between the American president and the head of the Israeli government, Joe Biden having for example publicly judged that Benjamin Netanyahu was making a “mistake” in Gaza.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei assured on Wednesday that Israel would be “punished” after a deadly attack attributed to it on 1er April in Syria.
The strike destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus and left 16 dead, including seven members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, according to an NGO.
Iran had already promised to respond to this strike which further exacerbated regional tensions against a backdrop of war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas, supported by Iran.
The Americans, for their part, assured that they had “nothing to do” with this attack.
“Due to the current situation in the Middle East”, the German airline Lufthansa announced on Wednesday the suspension of its flights to and from Tehran, probably until Thursday.
“We are constantly monitoring the situation in the Middle East and are in close contact with the authorities,” the company said in a statement.