Iran Accuses Biden of Giving Tacit Support to an Israeli Attack

Iranians walk past an anti-Israeli billboard at the Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 21 October 2024. (EPA)
Iranians walk past an anti-Israeli billboard at the Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 21 October 2024. (EPA)
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Iran Accuses Biden of Giving Tacit Support to an Israeli Attack

Iranians walk past an anti-Israeli billboard at the Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 21 October 2024. (EPA)
Iranians walk past an anti-Israeli billboard at the Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 21 October 2024. (EPA)

Iran accused on Monday US President Joe Biden of contradicting repeated American claims to support de-escalation in the Middle East by giving tacit approval and support to an Israeli attack against the country.

Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani called Biden’s statement that he knows when and how Israel may respond to Tehran’s missile barrage on the country in early October “profoundly alarming and provocative.”

Biden was asked in Berlin last Friday whether he had an understanding of when and how Israel may respond, “Yes and yes,” he responded, refusing to offer any details.

Iravani said in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council on Monday that Biden’s knowledge, coupled with the US provision of technical expertise and advanced weapons including sophisticated air defense systems to Israel, “would make the US government `complicit’ in any Israeli aggression against Iran and its consequences.”

The Iranian ambassador claimed in the letter obtained by The Associated Press that any Israeli action would violate international law and the UN Charter and have “catastrophic consequences on regional and international peace and security.”

The UN Charter says all member nations -- now 193 -- shall refrain from threatening or using force against another country, but if attacked a country can take action in self-defense.

Iran called on the Security Council “to unequivocally condemn this reckless provocation,” and also demand that the US “leverage its substantial influence to compel Israel” to immediate end the war in Gaza and attacks in Lebanon.



Iran Says it Will 'Use All Available Tools' to Respond to Israel's Attack

A screengrab shows an Israeli Air Force plane, which the Israeli army says is departing to carry out strikes on Iran, from a handout video released on October 26, 2024. Israel Army/Handout via REUTERS
A screengrab shows an Israeli Air Force plane, which the Israeli army says is departing to carry out strikes on Iran, from a handout video released on October 26, 2024. Israel Army/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran Says it Will 'Use All Available Tools' to Respond to Israel's Attack

A screengrab shows an Israeli Air Force plane, which the Israeli army says is departing to carry out strikes on Iran, from a handout video released on October 26, 2024. Israel Army/Handout via REUTERS
A screengrab shows an Israeli Air Force plane, which the Israeli army says is departing to carry out strikes on Iran, from a handout video released on October 26, 2024. Israel Army/Handout via REUTERS

Tehran will "use all available tools" to respond to Israel's weekend attack on military targets in Iran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.
Iran previously played down Israel's air attack on Saturday, saying it caused only limited damage, while US President Joe Biden called for a halt to escalation that has raised fears of an all-out conflagration in the Middle East.
Speaking at a weekly televised news conference, Baghaei said: "(Iran) will use all available tools to deliver a definite and effective response to the Zionist regime (Israel)".
The nature of Iran's response depends on the nature of the Israeli attack, Baghaei added, without elaborating.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that Iranian officials should determine how best to demonstrate Iran's power to Israel, adding that the Israeli attack should "neither be downplayed nor exaggerated".
Scores of Israeli jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn on Saturday against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, Israel's military said.
The heavily armed arch-enemies have engaged in a cycle of retaliatory moves against each other for months, with Saturday's strike coming after an Iranian missile barrage on Oct. 1, much of which Israel said was downed by its air defenses.
Iran backs Hezbollah, which is engaged in heavy fighting with Israeli forces in Lebanon, and also the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is battling Israel in the Gaza Strip.