WASHINGTON — The White House promised Tuesday that Iran would face “significant consequences” for Tuesday's ballistic missile attack on Israel, but gave no details on what those would be.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the Pentagon had indicated that the U.S. destroyers USS Cole and USS Balkery fired about a dozen interceptor missiles at Iranian projectiles. , said the United States helped Israel successfully counterattack some 180 missiles launched by Iran toward the Jewish state.
“We are proud of the actions we have taken alongside Israel to protect and defend Israel,” Sullivan said. “We have been clear that this attack will have serious consequences, and we will work with Israel to achieve that.”
Sullivan added that Tuesday's attack was “a significant escalation by Iran and a significant event, and equally important that we were able to increase our cooperation with Israel.”
As of Tuesday afternoon ET, Israeli authorities said one Palestinian was killed and two others injured in the West Bank city of Jericho.
“We will now consider what the appropriate next steps are to first and foremost protect the interests of the United States and then promote the greatest degree of stability possible,” Sullivan said. , was hesitant when asked about what that step was.
“In response to this incident, we have had initial discussions with the Israeli side at the military level and also at the White House and Prime Minister's Office level,” he said. “We plan to continue our conversation over the next few hours.”
At the State Department, spokesman Matthew Miller said the Harris-Biden administration would “work with the United States.” [Israel] About what the reaction will be. ”
“This attack must have consequences for Iran. We have made it clear there will be consequences,” he said. “I won't go into what the outcome will be today, but there are things that we will coordinate with the Israeli side.”
According to a report on Tuesday, Israel is planning “powerful airstrikes across the Middle East” in response to Iranian attacks.
This is a developing story. Please refresh the page for updated information.
